AXQ Capital LP Purchases New Holdings in Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Key Points

• AXQ Capital LP initiated a new position in Valero Energy in Q4, buying 7,643 shares worth about $1.244 million.
• Valero posted strong quarterly results, with EPS of $4.22 topping estimates by $1.06 and revenue of $32.38 billion beating expectations; revenue also rose 7% year over year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.20 per share, payable June 23, implying a 1.9% annualized yield, while analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy on average.

AXQ Capital LP purchased a new stake in shares of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 7,643 shares of the oil and gas company's stock, valued at approximately $1,244,000.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. National Pension Service raised its holdings in Valero Energy by 3.6% in the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 491,134 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $83,620,000 after buying an additional 17,165 shares during the last quarter. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. raised its holdings in Valero Energy by 33.5% in the fourth quarter. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. now owns 42,376 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $6,898,000 after buying an additional 10,634 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in Valero Energy by 5.3% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 4,143,672 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $705,502,000 after buying an additional 209,597 shares during the last quarter. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Valero Energy by 13.7% in the third quarter. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC now owns 115,183 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $19,612,000 after buying an additional 13,923 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Friedenthal Financial purchased a new position in Valero Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $954,000. 78.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Valero Energy

In other news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 8,311 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.69, for a total value of $1,892,331.59. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 42,242 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,618,080.98. The trade was a 16.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.36% of the company's stock.

Valero Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:VLO opened at $252.78 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.15. Valero Energy Corporation has a 1-year low of $125.10 and a 1-year high of $263.75. The company has a market capitalization of $75.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.37, a P/E/G ratio of 0.36 and a beta of 0.55. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $243.02 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $207.74.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The oil and gas company reported $4.22 earnings per share 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 quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.89 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter 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 Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. Valero Energy's payout ratio is 34.88%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VLO has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wolfe Research reiterated an "underperform" rating and issued a $203.00 price target on shares of Valero Energy in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $220.00 to $292.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $246.00 to $259.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $255.00 to $276.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Valero Energy from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, April 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $243.65.

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.

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