Valero Energy Corporation $VLO Shares Acquired by Flputnam Investment Management Co.

Key Points

• Flputnam Investment Management increased its Valero Energy stake by 8.1% in the second quarter, bringing its holdings to 50,851 shares valued at approximately $13.2 million. Institutional investors collectively own 78.69% of VLO.
• Analysts remain broadly bullish, with Valero receiving a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating; several firms recently raised their price targets to between $323 and $356.
• Valero reported quarterly EPS of $12.54, beating estimates of $10.11, while revenue rose 48.8% year over year to $44.48 billion. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $1.20 per share, representing a 1.4% annualized yield.

Flputnam Investment Management Co. grew its stake in shares of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO - Free Report) by 8.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 50,851 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,802 shares during the period. Flputnam Investment Management Co.'s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $13,244,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of VLO. Whipplewood Advisors LLC increased its stake in Valero Energy by 3,400.0% in the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 105 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in Valero Energy during the first quarter valued at about $28,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Valero Energy by 134.0% during the first 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 in the last quarter. Global Assets Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the first quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the third quarter worth about $27,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.69% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Valero Energy

In other news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 7,500 shares of Valero Energy stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.17, for a total transaction of $2,011,275.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 19,742 shares in the company, valued at $5,294,212.14. The trade was a 27.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.36% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VLO has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $279.00 to $323.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $292.00 to $356.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Valero Energy from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $350.00 target price on shares of Valero Energy in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on Valero Energy from $280.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Valero Energy currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $288.00.

Valero Energy Trading Down 0.1%

Valero Energy stock opened at $341.36 on Monday. Valero Energy Corporation has a 12 month low of $135.01 and a 12 month high of $346.09. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The stock has a market cap of $98.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.16, a P/E/G ratio of 0.23 and a beta of 0.55. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $283.92 and its 200-day simple moving average is $248.42.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The oil and gas company reported $12.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $10.11 by $2.43. The business had revenue of $44.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $39.47 billion. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 26.74% and a net margin of 5.17%.Valero Energy's quarterly revenue was up 48.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.28 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Valero Energy Corporation will post 40.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 31st will be paid a dividend of $1.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 31st. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Valero Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.92%.

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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