Flputnam Investment Management Co. Raises Position in Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Key Points

• Flputnam Investment Management boosted its Valero Energy stake by 263.9% in the fourth quarter, bringing its holdings to 34,151 shares valued at about $5.56 million.
• Valero reported strong quarterly earnings, with EPS of $4.22 beating estimates by $1.06 and revenue of $32.38 billion topping expectations; revenue also rose 7% year over year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.20 per share, equal to an annualized $4.80 dividend yield of about 2.0%, while analysts currently rate the stock a consensus Moderate Buy.

Flputnam Investment Management Co. increased its holdings in Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO - Free Report) by 263.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 34,151 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after buying an additional 24,765 shares during the period. Flputnam Investment Management Co.'s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $5,559,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in VLO. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership purchased a new stake in shares of Valero Energy in the third quarter worth $275,239,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in Valero Energy by 2,635.7% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 950,527 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $154,736,000 after purchasing an additional 915,782 shares in the last quarter. Life Cycle Investment Partners Ltd purchased a new stake in Valero Energy during the fourth quarter valued at about $46,854,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in Valero Energy by 5.0% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,273,517 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $897,869,000 after purchasing an additional 249,195 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Voloridge Investment Management LLC raised its position in Valero Energy by 96.5% during the third quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 444,919 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $75,752,000 after purchasing an additional 218,448 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.69% of the company's stock.

Valero Energy Stock Down 0.4%

VLO opened at $240.43 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $71.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.47, a P/E/G ratio of 0.36 and a beta of 0.58. The business's 50-day moving average price is $242.49 and its 200-day moving average price is $206.27. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. Valero Energy Corporation has a 12 month low of $125.10 and a 12 month high of $263.75.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $3.16 by $1.06. The firm had revenue of $32.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.38 billion. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 15.94% and a net margin of 3.37%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.89 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Valero Energy Corporation will post 26.51 EPS for the current year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Valero Energy's payout ratio is currently 34.88%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on VLO. UBS Group raised their price target on Valero Energy from $215.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Barclays raised their price target on Valero Energy from $184.00 to $261.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on Valero Energy from $236.00 to $263.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Valero Energy from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Finally, Raymond James Financial raised their price target on Valero Energy from $215.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $243.65.

Insider Activity at Valero Energy

In other news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 8,311 shares of Valero Energy stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was 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 in the company, 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 is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate 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.

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.