Cherokee Insurance Co Cuts Position in Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Key Points

• Cherokee Insurance Co cut its Valero Energy stake by 19.7% in the first quarter, selling 4,500 shares and leaving it with 18,350 shares worth about $4.53 million.
• Valero reported strong quarterly results, posting EPS of $4.22 versus the $3.16 estimate and revenue of $32.38 billion, topping Wall Street expectations.
• The company also paid a quarterly dividend of $1.20 per share, equal to an annualized yield of about 1.8%, while analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy with a consensus price target of $247.59.

Cherokee Insurance Co reduced its position in Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO - Free Report) by 19.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 18,350 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 4,500 shares during the period. Valero Energy makes up approximately 1.7% of Cherokee Insurance Co's holdings, making the stock its 20th largest holding. Cherokee Insurance Co's holdings in Valero Energy were worth $4,534,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Valero Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in Valero Energy in the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Torren Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. AXS Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Valero Energy during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Finally, University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. lifted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 157.0% during the fourth quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. now owns 203 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.69% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Valero Energy news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 7,500 shares of the 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 $5,294,212.14. This trade represents a 27.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on VLO. UBS Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $280.00 price target on shares of Valero Energy in a report on Thursday, June 11th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Valero Energy from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, April 4th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $220.00 to $292.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Valero Energy from $203.00 to $237.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their target price on Valero Energy from $178.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Valero Energy presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $247.59.

Valero Energy Price Performance

VLO opened at $267.99 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $79.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.48, a PEG ratio of 0.37 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a 50-day moving average of $249.73 and a 200-day moving average of $220.63. 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 Corporation has a 1-year low of $130.78 and a 1-year high of $274.92.

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 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.16 by $1.06. The business had revenue of $32.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $31.38 billion. Valero Energy had a net margin of 3.37% and a return on equity of 15.94%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.89 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Valero Energy Corporation will post 28.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 21st were paid a dividend of $1.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. Valero Energy's dividend payout ratio is presently 34.88%.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding VLO? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.