Genus Capital Management Inc. Boosts Position in Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Key Points

• Genus Capital Management nearly doubled its stake in Valero Energy, boosting its holdings by 99.1% to 46,000 shares worth about $7.49 million in the fourth quarter.
• Institutional ownership remains very high, with hedge funds and other institutions owning 78.69% of Valero’s stock, and several other firms also increased their positions.
• Valero reported better-than-expected quarterly results, including EPS of $4.22 versus $3.16 expected, while analysts now have a consensus Moderate Buy rating and a price target of $237.94.

Genus Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO - Free Report) by 99.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 46,000 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after acquiring an additional 22,900 shares during the period. Genus Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $7,488,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of VLO. Woodline Partners LP raised its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 40.7% during the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 26,747 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $3,532,000 after acquiring an additional 7,735 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 13.0% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,929 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $259,000 after acquiring an additional 222 shares during the period. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL acquired a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the 2nd quarter worth about $528,000. Sei Investments Co. increased its position in shares of Valero Energy by 11.3% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 269,043 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $36,165,000 after purchasing an additional 27,291 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina increased its position in shares of Valero Energy by 0.9% during the 2nd 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 purchasing an additional 1,338 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.69% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on VLO shares. Argus raised Valero Energy to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Zacks Research raised Valero Energy from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. UBS Group raised their price objective on Valero Energy from $215.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Valero Energy from $236.00 to $263.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, Raymond James Financial raised their price objective on Valero Energy from $215.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $237.94.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

Shares of VLO opened at $247.08 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $241.89 and a 200-day simple moving average of $204.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $73.36 billion, a PE ratio of 17.96, a PEG ratio of 0.36 and a beta of 0.58. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The oil and gas company reported $4.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.16 by $1.06. The business had revenue of $32.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $31.38 billion. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 15.94% and a net margin of 3.37%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.89 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Valero Energy Corporation will post 26.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be paid a $1.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. Valero Energy's payout ratio is currently 34.88%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Valero Energy news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 400 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.60, for a total value of $95,440.00. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 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.

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