Journey Advisory Group LLC Has $2.86 Million Stock Holdings in Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Key Points

• Journey Advisory Group LLC boosted its stake in Valero by 377.7% in Q4, adding 13,898 shares to hold 17,578 shares worth about $2.86 million.
• Several analysts have raised price targets (e.g., UBS to $280, Raymond James to $290, Wells Fargo to $292), leaving a MarketBeat consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average target of $230.
• Valero beat expectations with quarterly EPS of $3.82 and recently increased its quarterly dividend to $1.20 (annualized $4.80, ~2.1% yield).

Journey Advisory Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO - Free Report) by 377.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 17,578 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after acquiring an additional 13,898 shares during the quarter. Journey Advisory Group LLC's holdings in Valero Energy were worth $2,862,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership acquired a new position in shares of Valero Energy during the third quarter worth $275,239,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in Valero Energy by 17.7% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,706,187 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $286,076,000 after purchasing an additional 256,373 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in Valero Energy by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,273,517 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $897,869,000 after purchasing an additional 249,195 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in Valero Energy by 13.3% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,929,599 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $328,534,000 after buying an additional 226,167 shares during the period. Finally, Voloridge Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Valero Energy by 96.5% in the 3rd quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 444,919 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $75,752,000 after buying an additional 218,448 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.69% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on VLO shares. Citigroup raised their price objective on Valero Energy from $212.00 to $246.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $215.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Raymond James Financial raised their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $215.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $203.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $220.00 to $292.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $230.00.

Valero Energy Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of Valero Energy stock opened at $223.79 on Monday. The stock's 50-day moving average is $225.31 and its 200 day moving average is $191.91. Valero Energy Corporation has a one year low of $106.83 and a one year high of $258.43. The firm has a market cap of $66.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.29, a PEG ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.64 and a quick ratio of 1.11.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The oil and gas company reported $3.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.27 by $0.55. The business had revenue of $30.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $28.20 billion. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 12.35% and a net margin of 1.91%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.64 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Valero Energy Corporation will post 7.92 EPS for the current year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 5th were given a dividend of $1.20 per share. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 5th. This is a boost from Valero Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $1.13. Valero Energy's dividend payout ratio is presently 62.83%.

Insider Transactions at Valero Energy

In related news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 8,311 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.69, for a total transaction of $1,892,331.59. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 42,242 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,618,080.98. This represents a 16.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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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