Rokos Capital Management LLP Purchases Shares of 186,570 Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Key Points

• Rokos Capital Management acquired 186,570 Valero Energy shares worth approximately $46.1 million, taking a roughly 0.06% stake. Institutional investors collectively own 78.69% of the company.
• Analysts remain broadly positive, with Valero receiving a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $266.71, although one senior vice president recently sold 7,500 shares.
• Valero reported first-quarter adjusted earnings of $4.22 per share, exceeding estimates by $1.06, while revenue rose 7% year over year to $32.38 billion. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $1.20 per share, equivalent to a 1.6% annualized yield.

Rokos Capital Management LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 186,570 shares of the oil and gas company's stock, valued at approximately $46,091,000. Rokos Capital Management LLP owned about 0.06% of Valero Energy at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC lifted its position in Valero Energy by 3,400.0% in the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 105 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the third quarter worth $27,000. Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the first quarter worth $28,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Valero Energy by 134.0% during the 1st quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 117 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Torren Management LLC purchased a new stake in Valero Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.69% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Valero Energy

In related news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 7,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.17, for a total value of $2,011,275.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 19,742 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,294,212.14. This represents a 27.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.36% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $286.00 to $357.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $261.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Wall Street Zen raised Valero Energy from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, April 4th. Mizuho upped their price target on Valero Energy from $222.00 to $289.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on Valero Energy from $259.00 to $302.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $266.71.

Valero Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE VLO opened at $304.99 on Tuesday. Valero Energy Corporation has a 1 year low of $130.78 and a 1 year high of $320.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $90.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.16, a P/E/G ratio of 0.20 and a beta of 0.55. The company's 50-day moving average is $266.16 and its 200 day moving average is $235.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.15.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The oil and gas company reported $4.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.16 by $1.06. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 15.94% and a net margin of 3.37%.The business had revenue of $32.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $31.38 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.89 EPS. The business's revenue was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Valero Energy Corporation will post 36.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 31st will be paid a $1.20 dividend. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 31st. Valero Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.88%.

Valero Energy Company 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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