Lbp Am Sa Boosts Stock Position in Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Key Points

• Lbp Am Sa boosted its stake in Valero by 81.8% in Q4, adding 31,612 shares to hold 70,256 shares worth about $11.44 million, while institutional investors own roughly 78.69% of the stock.
• Valero beat expectations in the latest quarter with EPS of $3.82 vs. a $3.27 consensus and revenue of $30.37 billion, and analysts' average target sits at about $230 with a "Moderate Buy" consensus.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $1.20 (annualized $4.80, ~2.0% yield), and insider SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 400 shares at an average price of $238.60; insiders own ~0.36%.

Lbp Am Sa grew its position in shares of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO - Free Report) by 81.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 70,256 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after purchasing an additional 31,612 shares during the quarter. Lbp Am Sa's holdings in Valero Energy were worth $11,437,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. lifted its position in Valero Energy by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. now owns 8,735 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $1,422,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. PFG Investments LLC grew its position in Valero Energy by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 12,801 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $2,084,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC now owns 46,123 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $7,508,000 after acquiring an additional 345 shares in the last quarter. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 105,741 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $17,214,000 after acquiring an additional 3,763 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 9.9% in the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 12,339 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $2,009,000 after acquiring an additional 1,109 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.69% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 400 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.60, for a total transaction of $95,440.00. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.36% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $197.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Valero Energy from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Argus raised Valero Energy to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded Valero Energy from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, April 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Valero Energy from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $230.00.

Valero Energy Price Performance

Shares of VLO stock opened at $241.78 on Friday. The business's fifty day moving average is $224.89 and its 200 day moving average is $191.23. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The stock has a market cap of $72.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.65, a PEG ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 0.62. Valero Energy Corporation has a twelve month low of $106.83 and a twelve month high of $258.43.

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

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 is an increase from Valero Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $1.13. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 5th. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. Valero Energy's dividend payout ratio is 62.83%.

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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