Magnetar Financial LLC Purchases New Shares in Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Key Points

• Magnetar Financial LLC acquired a stake of 1,722 shares in Valero Energy Corporation, valued at approximately $227,000, during the first quarter of the year.
• Valero Energy reported an earnings per share of $2.28, exceeding analysts' expectations of $1.66 and generating revenues of $29.89 billion in the last quarter.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.13, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 2.9%, although the payout ratio is notably high at 188.33%.

Magnetar Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 1,722 shares of the oil and gas company's stock, valued at approximately $227,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC grew its position in Valero Energy by 18.5% during the first quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 22,402 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $2,959,000 after buying an additional 3,503 shares during the period. United Super Pty Ltd in its capacity as Trustee for the Construction & Building Unions Superannuation Fund acquired a new stake in Valero Energy during the first quarter valued at $766,000. Sendero Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Valero Energy by 11.0% in the 1st quarter. Sendero Wealth Management LLC now owns 20,198 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $2,668,000 after acquiring an additional 2,000 shares during the period. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC grew its stake in Valero Energy by 130.0% in the 4th quarter. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 7,884 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $967,000 after acquiring an additional 4,456 shares during the period. Finally, Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Valero Energy in the 1st quarter valued at $462,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.69% of the company's stock.

Valero Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE VLO opened at $154.20 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $142.24 and a 200-day simple moving average of $131.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $47.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 64.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. Valero Energy Corporation has a 52 week low of $99.00 and a 52 week high of $155.12.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The oil and gas company reported $2.28 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.62. The business had revenue of $29.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $27 billion. Valero Energy had a net margin of 0.62% and a return on equity of 5.76%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.71 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Valero Energy Corporation will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were given a $1.13 dividend. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 31st. Valero Energy's dividend payout ratio is 188.33%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Raymond James Financial increased their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $155.00 to $172.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Valero Energy from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $127.00 to $154.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Citigroup downgraded shares of Valero Energy from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $134.00 to $150.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $158.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, TD Cowen downgraded shares of Valero Energy from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $118.00 to $140.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $154.47.

Valero Energy Company Profile

Valero Energy Corporation manufactures, markets, and sells petroleum-based and low-carbon liquid transportation fuels and petrochemical products in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Latin America, Mexico, Peru, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Refining, Renewable Diesel, and Ethanol.

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