Valero Energy Corporation $VLO Shares Acquired by Vise Technologies Inc.

Vise Technologies Inc. increased its position in shares of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) by 77.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 12,684 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 5,524 shares during the period. Vise Technologies Inc.’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $3,303,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VLO. Whipplewood Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Valero Energy by 3,400.0% in the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 105 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Valero Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in shares of Valero Energy in the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 134.0% in the 1st quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 117 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Torren Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Valero Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE VLO opened at $349.27 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $100.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.49, a P/E/G ratio of 0.23 and a beta of 0.55. Valero Energy Corporation has a twelve month low of $140.13 and a twelve month high of $352.70. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $292.93 and a two-hundred day moving average of $253.69. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The oil and gas company reported $12.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.11 by $2.43. The business had revenue of $44.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $39.47 billion. Valero Energy had a net margin of 5.17% and a return on equity of 26.74%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 48.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.28 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Valero Energy Corporation will post 40.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 31st. Investors of record on Friday, July 31st will be paid 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 yield of 1.4%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.92%.

Insider Transactions at Valero Energy

In other Valero Energy news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the senior vice president directly 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on VLO. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Valero Energy from $292.00 to $356.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Valero Energy from $232.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, June 12th. Mizuho upped their price objective on Valero Energy from $289.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Zacks Research upgraded Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Valero Energy from $286.00 to $357.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $288.00.

Valero Energy Company 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.