SIR Capital Management L.P. Buys Shares of 124,319 Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

SIR Capital Management L.P. bought a new position in Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 124,319 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $32,378,000. Valero Energy accounts for approximately 3.7% of SIR Capital Management L.P.’s portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest holding.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Sierra Summit Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Valero Energy by 2,325.2% in the 4th quarter. Sierra Summit Advisors LLC now owns 36,378 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $5,922,000 after acquiring an additional 34,878 shares during the period. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. raised its stake in Valero Energy by 846.9% in the 4th quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 14,752 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,401,000 after acquiring an additional 13,194 shares during the last quarter. North Dakota State Investment Board acquired a new stake in Valero Energy during the 4th quarter worth about $1,743,000. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH lifted its position in Valero Energy by 4.2% during the 1st quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH now owns 192,430 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $47,546,000 after acquiring an additional 7,702 shares during the period. Finally, Dymon Asia Capital Singapore PTE. LTD. purchased a new stake in Valero Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,268,000. 78.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Valero Energy

In related news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 7,500 shares of Valero Energy stock in a transaction on Monday, June 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.17, for a total value 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. This trade represents a 27.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on VLO shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Valero Energy from $292.00 to $356.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Citigroup upped their target price on Valero Energy from $259.00 to $302.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $280.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $329.00 price target on shares of Valero Energy in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $350.00 price objective on shares of Valero Energy in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Valero Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $288.00.

Valero Energy Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of Valero Energy stock opened at $346.15 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $294.91 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $255.29. 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 $144.30 and a fifty-two week high of $353.00. The company has a market cap of $99.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.23 and a beta of 0.55.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last posted 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. The firm had revenue of $44.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $39.47 billion. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 26.74% and a net margin of 5.17%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 48.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.28 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Valero Energy Corporation will post 40.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 31st will be given a dividend of $1.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 31st. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.92%.

Valero Energy Profile

Valero Energy Corporation is a San Antonio, Texas–based integrated downstream energy company that manufactures and markets transportation fuels, petrochemical feedstocks and other industrial products. The company’s operations focus on refining crude oil into finished fuels such as gasoline, diesel and jet fuel, as well as producing asphalt and other refined product streams for commercial and industrial customers.

In addition to refining, Valero has significant operations in renewable fuels, including the production of ethanol and other biofuels, and it manages an extensive logistics network of pipelines, terminals, rail and marine assets to move feedstocks and finished products.