GF Fund Management CO. LTD. Has $6.14 Million Stock Position in Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Key Points

• GF Fund Management CO. LTD. reduced its stake in Valero by 25.4%, selling 12,837 shares and now holds 37,730 shares valued at about $6.14 million per its SEC filing.
• Valero beat Q4 estimates with EPS of $3.82 versus $3.27 and revenue of $30.37 billion, although revenue was down 1.2% year‑over‑year.
• Valero raised its quarterly dividend to $1.20 (annualized $4.80, ~2.1% yield), and analysts have lifted targets, leaving a MarketBeat consensus of Moderate Buy with an average target of $230.

GF Fund Management CO. LTD. lessened its position in Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO - Free Report) by 25.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 37,730 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 12,837 shares during the period. GF Fund Management CO. LTD.'s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $6,142,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Ninety One UK Ltd lifted its holdings in Valero Energy by 408.1% during the fourth quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 168,007 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $27,350,000 after acquiring an additional 134,942 shares during the period. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora grew its position in shares of Valero Energy by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora now owns 21,673 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $3,528,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. River Street Advisors LLC grew its position in Valero Energy by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. River Street Advisors LLC now owns 12,107 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $1,971,000 after buying an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC purchased a new position in Valero Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $1,344,000. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in Valero Energy by 17.0% during the fourth quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 19,141 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $3,116,000 after purchasing an additional 2,780 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.69% of the company's stock.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

Shares of VLO stock opened at $223.79 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $66.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.29, a PEG ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 0.62. The company's 50 day moving average is $225.31 and its 200 day moving average is $191.74. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. Valero Energy Corporation has a 52-week low of $106.83 and a 52-week high of $258.43.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The oil and gas company reported $3.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.27 by $0.55. The company had revenue of $30.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $28.20 billion. Valero Energy had a net margin of 1.91% and a return on equity of 12.35%. Valero Energy's revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.64 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Valero Energy Corporation will post 7.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 9th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 5th were given a $1.20 dividend. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 5th. This is a positive change from Valero Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $1.13. Valero Energy's payout ratio is 62.83%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Valero Energy

In other news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 400 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.60, for a total value of $95,440.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.36% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on VLO shares. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Valero Energy from $197.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Barclays upped their price objective on Valero Energy from $184.00 to $261.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Valero Energy from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, Scotiabank upgraded Valero Energy to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $230.00.

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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