Foundations Investment Advisors LLC Sells 11,229 Shares of Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Key Points

• Foundations Investment Advisors LLC cut its Valero Energy stake by 20.6% in the fourth quarter, selling 11,229 shares and leaving it with 43,405 shares worth about $7.07 million.
• Valero reported strong quarterly results, posting $4.22 EPS versus the $3.16 estimate and revenue of $32.38 billion, with sales up 7% year over year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.20 per share, or $4.80 annually, which works out to a 2.0% yield based on the article’s share price.

Foundations Investment Advisors LLC lessened its position in Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO - Free Report) by 20.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 43,405 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 11,229 shares during the period. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC's holdings in Valero Energy were worth $7,066,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Valero Energy Price Performance

NYSE VLO opened at $245.10 on Friday. The business's fifty day moving average price is $242.67 and its 200-day moving average price is $206.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $72.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.81, a PEG ratio of 0.35 and a beta of 0.58. 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.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The oil and gas company reported $4.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 period last year, the firm earned $0.89 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Valero Energy Corporation will post 26.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be given a $1.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. Valero Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.88%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Valero Energy news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 8,311 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owned 42,242 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,618,080.98. This trade represents a 16.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.36% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $215.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $220.00 to $292.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Argus raised Valero Energy to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Citigroup increased their price target on Valero Energy from $246.00 to $259.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Valero Energy from a "hold (c)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Valero Energy has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $243.65.

About Valero Energy

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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