Sierra Summit Advisors LLC Acquires 34,878 Shares of Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Key Points

• Sierra Summit Advisors LLC dramatically increased its Valero Energy stake in the fourth quarter, buying 34,878 additional shares and lifting its position to 36,378 shares worth about $5.9 million.
• Other institutional investors were also active in VLO, and institutions now own 78.69% of the company, showing strong professional ownership interest in the stock.
• Valero posted better-than-expected quarterly results with EPS of $4.22 versus $3.16 expected, and it announced a $1.20 quarterly dividend, equal to a 1.9% annual yield.

Sierra Summit Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO - Free Report) by 2,325.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 36,378 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after buying an additional 34,878 shares during the period. Sierra Summit Advisors LLC's holdings in Valero Energy were worth $5,922,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of VLO. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership bought a new position in Valero Energy in the third quarter worth approximately $275,239,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of 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 worth $154,736,000 after purchasing an additional 915,782 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of Valero Energy by 5.0% during the third 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 in the last quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Valero Energy by 96.5% during the third quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 444,919 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $75,752,000 after purchasing an additional 218,448 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of Valero Energy by 5.3% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 4,143,672 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $705,502,000 after purchasing an additional 209,597 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.69% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Argus raised Valero Energy to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Weiss Ratings raised Valero Energy from a "hold (c)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. TD Cowen upped their price target on Valero Energy from $255.00 to $276.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Valero Energy from $220.00 to $292.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Finally, Raymond James Financial upped their price target on Valero Energy from $215.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $237.94.

Valero Energy Price Performance

NYSE VLO opened at $254.01 on Thursday. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $241.10 and its 200 day moving average price is $203.74. The company has a market cap of $75.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.46, a PEG ratio of 0.36 and a beta of 0.58. 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 Corporation has a 1 year low of $125.10 and a 1 year high of $263.75.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The oil and gas company reported $4.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.16 by $1.06. The company had revenue of $32.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.38 billion. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 15.94% and a net margin of 3.37%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.89 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Valero Energy Corporation will post 28.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be given a dividend of $1.20 per share. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. Valero Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.88%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Valero Energy news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 400 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.60, for a total transaction of $95,440.00. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.36% of the company's stock.

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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