Empire Life Investments Inc. Purchases 26,418 Shares of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO)

Key Points

• Empire Life Investments Inc. has increased its stake in Valero Energy Corporation by 46.6% in the first quarter, now owning 83,157 shares valued at approximately $10.98 million.
• Several other institutional investors have also modified their positions in Valero, with a total of 78.69% of the stock currently held by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
• Valero Energy reported a quarterly earnings of $2.28 per share, surpassing expectations, and declared a quarterly dividend of $1.13 per share, equating to a 3.4% yield.

Empire Life Investments Inc. lifted its position in shares of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO - Free Report) by 46.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 83,157 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after acquiring an additional 26,418 shares during the quarter. Empire Life Investments Inc.'s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $10,983,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in VLO. World Investment Advisors grew its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 4,323 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $530,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the period. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Valero Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $11,716,000. KCM Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Valero Energy by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,497 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $674,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Aviva PLC raised its holdings in Valero Energy by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 192,523 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $23,601,000 after acquiring an additional 4,489 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its holdings in Valero Energy by 6.4% during the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 465,888 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $57,066,000 after acquiring an additional 27,850 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.69% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Valero Energy from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $127.00 to $154.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Valero Energy from $164.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Valero Energy from $152.00 to $147.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Raymond James Financial increased their price target on Valero Energy from $155.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Evercore ISI initiated coverage on Valero Energy in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. They issued an "in-line" rating and a $135.00 target price on the stock. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Valero Energy currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $154.47.

Valero Energy Price Performance

Shares of VLO traded down $3.29 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $133.54. 2,764,065 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,151,329. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $138.86 and a 200 day moving average price of $131.07. The company has a market cap of $41.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a current ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. Valero Energy Corporation has a 1 year low of $99.00 and a 1 year high of $155.12.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The oil and gas company reported $2.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.62. Valero Energy had a net margin of 0.62% and a return on equity of 5.76%. The company had revenue of $29.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $27 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.71 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Valero Energy Corporation will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be paid a dividend of $1.13 per share. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 31st. Valero Energy's dividend payout ratio is 188.33%.

Valero Energy Company Profile

Valero Energy Corporation manufactures, markets, and sells petroleum-based and low-carbon liquid transportation fuels and petrochemical products in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Latin America, Mexico, Peru, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Refining, Renewable Diesel, and Ethanol.