Centric Wealth Management Acquires 3,415 Shares of Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Key Points

• Centric Wealth Management more than doubled its Valero Energy stake in the second quarter, purchasing 3,415 additional shares for a total of 6,149 shares valued at approximately $1.74 million. Institutional investors collectively own 78.69% of Valero.
• Valero reported quarterly EPS of $12.54, exceeding analyst expectations of $10.11, while revenue rose 48.8% year over year to $44.48 billion. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $1.20 per share, equivalent to a 1.4% yield.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive, with Valero holding a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating; recent price-target increases included UBS raising its target to $355 and Raymond James to $340. The average analyst price target is $288, below the stock’s reported $341.36 price.

Centric Wealth Management increased its holdings in shares of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO - Free Report) by 124.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,149 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,415 shares during the quarter. Centric Wealth Management's holdings in Valero Energy were worth $1,742,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Woodline Partners LP boosted its stake in Valero Energy by 40.7% in the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 26,747 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $3,532,000 after purchasing an additional 7,735 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Valero Energy by 13.0% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,929 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $259,000 after buying an additional 222 shares during the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL bought a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the second quarter valued at approximately $528,000. Sei Investments Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 11.3% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 269,043 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $36,165,000 after buying an additional 27,291 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina boosted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 0.9% during the second quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 145,810 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $19,600,000 after acquiring an additional 1,338 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.69% of the company's stock.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:VLO opened at $341.36 on Monday. Valero Energy Corporation has a 52 week low of $135.01 and a 52 week high of $346.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $98.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.16, a PEG ratio of 0.23 and a beta of 0.55. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $283.92 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $248.42. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The oil and gas company reported $12.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 5.17% and a return on equity of 26.74%. The business's revenue was up 48.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.28 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Valero Energy Corporation will post 40.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 31st will be paid a dividend of $1.20 per share. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 31st. Valero Energy's payout ratio is presently 19.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on VLO shares. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Valero Energy from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Raymond James Financial boosted their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $259.00 to $302.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Zacks Research upgraded Valero Energy from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on Valero Energy from $280.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $288.00.

Insider Transactions at Valero Energy

In other news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 7,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.17, for a total transaction of $2,011,275.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 19,742 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,294,212.14. The trade was a 27.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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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