ABN Amro Investment Solutions Invests $2.62 Million in Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Key Points

• ABN Amro Investment Solutions opened a new position in Valero Energy during the fourth quarter, buying 16,112 shares worth about $2.62 million.
• Valero posted a strong quarterly earnings beat, reporting $4.22 EPS versus the $3.16 estimate and revenue of $32.38 billion, up 7% from a year earlier.
• The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $1.20 per share, equal to an annualized yield of about 1.9%, while analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy with an average target price of $237.94.

ABN Amro Investment Solutions purchased a new position in Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 16,112 shares of the oil and gas company's stock, valued at approximately $2,623,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of VLO. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 46.8% during the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 3,651 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $594,000 after acquiring an additional 1,164 shares during the period. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 9,610 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $1,564,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the period. Adell Harriman & Carpenter Inc. lifted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Adell Harriman & Carpenter Inc. now owns 89,005 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $14,489,000 after acquiring an additional 2,434 shares during the period. Intrust Bank NA lifted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 9.0% during the 4th quarter. Intrust Bank NA now owns 15,660 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $2,549,000 after acquiring an additional 1,293 shares during the period. Finally, Banque Cantonale Vaudoise lifted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 7.6% during the 4th quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 14,379 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $2,341,000 after acquiring an additional 1,018 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.69% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on VLO shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Valero Energy from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, April 4th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $255.00 to $276.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Valero Energy from a "hold (c)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Argus upgraded shares of Valero Energy to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $203.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Two 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, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $237.94.

Valero Energy Price Performance

NYSE VLO opened at $247.08 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $73.36 billion, a PE ratio of 17.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.36 and a beta of 0.58. Valero Energy Corporation has a 52 week low of $125.10 and a 52 week high of $263.75. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $241.89 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $204.54.

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

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be issued a $1.20 dividend. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. Valero Energy's dividend payout ratio is presently 34.88%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 400 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.60, for a total value of $95,440.00. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.36% of the company's stock.

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.

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