Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Buys 4,257 Shares of Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Key Points

• Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its stake in Valero Energy by 6.0% in the first quarter, buying 4,257 additional shares and bringing its total holding to 74,758 shares worth about $18.47 million.
• Valero reported strong quarterly results, posting EPS of $4.22 versus the $3.16 consensus and revenue of $32.38 billion, both ahead of expectations. Revenue also rose 7.0% year over year.
• The company remains supported by a quarterly dividend of $1.20 per share, or $4.80 annually, while analyst sentiment is mixed with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $246.53.

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its stake in Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO - Free Report) by 6.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 74,758 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after purchasing an additional 4,257 shares during the quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC's holdings in Valero Energy were worth $18,471,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of Valero Energy by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 4,143,672 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $705,502,000 after purchasing an additional 209,597 shares during the last quarter. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. increased its stake in Valero Energy by 33.5% in the 4th quarter. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. now owns 42,376 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $6,898,000 after buying an additional 10,634 shares during the period. Friedenthal Financial purchased a new position in shares of Valero Energy during the fourth quarter worth approximately $954,000. CWA Asset Management Group LLC increased its holdings in Valero Energy by 359.0% during the 4th quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 14,243 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $2,319,000 after purchasing an additional 11,140 shares during the period. Finally, Munich Reinsurance Co Stock Corp in Munich purchased a new stake in Valero Energy in the third quarter worth about $3,249,000. Institutional investors own 78.69% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 7,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.17, for a total value of $2,011,275.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 19,742 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,294,212.14. This represents a 27.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.36% of the company's stock.

Valero Energy Trading Down 2.1%

Shares of VLO stock opened at $260.62 on Wednesday. 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's fifty day moving average is $247.50 and its two-hundred day moving average is $218.91. Valero Energy Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $130.78 and a fifty-two week high of $272.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $77.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.94, a PEG ratio of 0.38 and a beta of 0.55.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO - Get Free Report) last issued its 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. The business had revenue of $32.38 billion for 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 revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.89 EPS. Research analysts expect that Valero Energy Corporation will post 27.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 21st were given a $1.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. Valero Energy's payout ratio is currently 34.88%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Citigroup upped their target price on Valero Energy from $246.00 to $259.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Valero Energy from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, April 4th. Zacks Research downgraded Valero Energy from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Wolfe Research reissued an "underperform" rating and set a $203.00 target price on shares of Valero Energy in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Valero Energy from $220.00 to $292.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Valero Energy currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $246.53.

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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