NewEdge Advisors LLC Acquires 7,794 Shares of Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) by 13.1% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 67,092 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,794 shares during the quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $17,474,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its position in Valero Energy by 40,516.1% during the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 143,816,270 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $37,455,509,000 after buying an additional 143,462,183 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $1,111,542,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the second quarter worth about $1,195,943,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership bought a new stake in shares of Valero Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $275,239,000. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 2,635.7% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 950,527 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $154,736,000 after acquiring an additional 915,782 shares during the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Valero Energy Price Performance

Shares of VLO stock opened at $385.92 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 1.64. Valero Energy Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $155.29 and a fifty-two week high of $393.54. The firm has a market cap of $111.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.01, a P/E/G ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 0.57. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $324.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $270.47.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The oil and gas company reported $12.54 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.11 by $2.43. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 26.74% and a net margin of 5.17%.The company had revenue of $44.48 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $39.47 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.28 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 48.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Valero Energy Corporation will post 41.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 31st were given a $1.20 dividend. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 31st. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.92%.

Insider Activity at Valero Energy

In other news, SVP Eric Fisher sold 7,500 shares of Valero Energy stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.17, for a total transaction of $2,011,275.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 19,742 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,294,212.14. The trade was a 27.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on VLO shares. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Valero Energy from $286.00 to $357.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Barclays boosted their price objective on Valero Energy from $279.00 to $323.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $289.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Erste Group Bank cut shares of Valero Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $338.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $301.76.

About Valero Energy

Valero Energy Corporation is an international energy company headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. Its primary business is refining crude oil into transportation fuels and other products, including gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, asphalt, lubricants and petrochemical feedstocks.

Valero operates refineries and related facilities in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom, and markets its products through wholesale and commercial channels in North America and other international markets.