Valero Energy Corporation $VLO is Adams Natural Resources Fund Inc.'s 8th Largest Position

Key Points

• Adams Natural Resources Fund increased its Valero Energy stake by 8.1% in the first quarter, bringing its holding to 95,000 shares worth about $23.5 million. Valero now represents roughly 2.7% of the fund’s portfolio and is its 8th largest position.
• Valero reported strong quarterly results, posting EPS of $4.22 versus the $3.16 consensus estimate and revenue of $32.38 billion, above expectations. Revenue rose 7% year over year, and analysts now expect full-year EPS of 27.45.
• Wall Street remains constructive overall: Valero’s consensus rating is Moderate Buy with an average price target of $245.59, though recent targets vary widely. The stock also paid a quarterly dividend of $1.20 per share, equal to a 1.9% annualized yield.

Adams Natural Resources Fund Inc. boosted its position in Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO - Free Report) by 8.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 95,000 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after purchasing an additional 7,100 shares during the quarter. Valero Energy comprises about 2.7% of Adams Natural Resources Fund Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 8th largest position. Adams Natural Resources Fund Inc.'s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $23,473,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Barclays PLC boosted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 5.3% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 4,143,672 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $705,502,000 after acquiring an additional 209,597 shares during the last quarter. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. increased its position in Valero Energy by 33.5% during the fourth quarter. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. now owns 42,376 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $6,898,000 after purchasing an additional 10,634 shares during the last quarter. Friedenthal Financial acquired a new position in Valero Energy during the fourth quarter worth approximately $954,000. CWA Asset Management Group LLC raised its stake in Valero Energy by 359.0% during the fourth quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 14,243 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $2,319,000 after purchasing an additional 11,140 shares during the period. Finally, Munich Reinsurance Co Stock Corp in Munich purchased a new position in Valero Energy during the third quarter worth approximately $3,249,000. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 7,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $236.90, for a total transaction of $1,776,750.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 27,242 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,453,629.80. The trade was a 21.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on VLO. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $184.00 to $261.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Valero Energy from $232.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, June 12th. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $280.00 price target on shares of Valero Energy in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. Wolfe Research restated an "underperform" rating and set a $203.00 price target on shares of Valero Energy in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Valero Energy from $255.00 to $276.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Valero Energy currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $245.59.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:VLO opened at $259.05 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $76.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.83, a PEG ratio of 0.37 and a beta of 0.55. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $246.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $217.36. Valero Energy Corporation has a twelve month low of $130.78 and a twelve month high of $265.61.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.16 by $1.06. The firm had revenue of $32.38 billion during 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 quarterly revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.89 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Valero Energy Corporation will post 27.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 21st were paid a dividend of $1.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Valero Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.88%.

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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