6,380 Shares in Valero Energy Corporation $VLO Acquired by Integrity Alliance LLC.

Key Points

• Integrity Alliance LLC initiated a new position in Valero Energy, buying 6,380 shares in the fourth quarter worth about $1.04 million.
• Valero reported strong quarterly results, posting EPS of $4.22 versus expectations of $3.16 and revenue of $32.38 billion, both above analyst estimates.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.20 per share, or $4.80 annualized, for a yield of about 2.0%.

Integrity Alliance LLC. bought a new position in Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 6,380 shares of the oil and gas company's stock, valued at approximately $1,039,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Bleakley Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 10,485 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $1,707,000 after purchasing an additional 417 shares in the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 133.5% in the 4th quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC now owns 3,355 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $546,000 after purchasing an additional 1,918 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Shields & Co. LLC increased its position in shares of Valero Energy by 13.6% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Shields & Co. LLC now owns 2,840 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $462,000 after acquiring an additional 340 shares in the last quarter. Allstate Corp increased its position in shares of Valero Energy by 118.6% in the fourth quarter. Allstate Corp now owns 23,926 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $3,895,000 after acquiring an additional 12,982 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Valero Energy by 56.1% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 27,339 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $4,451,000 after acquiring an additional 9,824 shares in the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Valero Energy news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 400 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.60, for a total value of $95,440.00. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.36% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

Shares of VLO opened at $245.10 on Friday. The company's 50 day moving average price is $242.67 and its 200 day moving average price is $206.77. Valero Energy Corporation has a 52 week low of $125.10 and a 52 week high of $263.75. The company has a market capitalization of $72.78 billion, a PE ratio of 17.81, a PEG ratio of 0.35 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.58.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The oil and gas company reported $4.22 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.16 by $1.06. Valero Energy had a net margin of 3.37% and a return on equity of 15.94%. The firm had revenue of $32.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.38 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.89 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Valero Energy Corporation will post 26.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, May 21st will be given a dividend of $1.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. Valero Energy's payout ratio is presently 34.88%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Valero Energy from a "hold (c)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $246.00 to $259.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $184.00 to $261.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Valero Energy from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, April 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $243.65.

About Valero Energy

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.

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