SHP Wealth Management Makes New Investment in Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Key Points

• SHP Wealth Management initiated a new position in Valero Energy in the fourth quarter, buying 4,433 shares valued at about $721,000. Several other institutional investors also added to or started stakes, and institutions now own 78.69% of the stock.
• Valero reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, posting $4.22 EPS versus the $3.16 consensus and revenue of $32.38 billion, up 7% year over year. Analysts now expect the company to earn $27.45 per share for the full year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.20 per share, payable June 23, implying a 2.0% yield. Meanwhile, analyst sentiment remains positive, with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $245.59.

SHP Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 4,433 shares of the oil and gas company's stock, valued at approximately $721,000.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. S Harris Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Valero Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $435,000. Tobam bought a new stake in shares of Valero Energy in the fourth quarter worth $141,000. Clearwave Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Valero Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $356,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in Valero Energy by 2,635.7% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 950,527 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $154,736,000 after acquiring an additional 915,782 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in Valero Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $342,000. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Valero Energy

In other news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 7,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.90, for a total value of $1,776,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 27,242 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,453,629.80. This represents a 21.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.36% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

VLO opened at $236.50 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $70.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.19, a PEG ratio of 0.34 and a beta of 0.55. Valero Energy Corporation has a 1-year low of $130.78 and a 1-year high of $265.61. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $245.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $214.85. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The oil and gas company reported $4.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.16 by $1.06. Valero Energy had a net margin of 3.37% and a return on equity of 15.94%. The firm had revenue of $32.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $31.38 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.89 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Valero Energy Corporation will post 27.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be issued a dividend of $1.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. Valero Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.88%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VLO has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded Valero Energy from a "hold (c)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Raymond James Financial increased their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $215.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 25th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 6th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Valero Energy from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Valero Energy from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, April 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Valero Energy has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $245.59.

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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