Valero Energy Corporation $VLO Shares Bought by HighTower Advisors LLC

Key Points

• HighTower Advisors increased its Valero Energy stake by 32.4% in the second quarter, bringing its holdings to 156,631 shares valued at approximately $40.8 million. Institutional investors collectively own 78.69% of the company.
• Valero reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $12.54 versus the $10.11 consensus estimate and revenue of $44.48 billion, up 48.8% year over year.
• Analysts hold a generally favorable view, with Valero receiving a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $296.18; the company also maintains a $1.20 quarterly dividend, yielding about 1.3%.

HighTower Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO - Free Report) by 32.4% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 156,631 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after buying an additional 38,296 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC owned 0.05% of Valero Energy worth $40,793,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Woodline Partners LP raised its stake in Valero Energy by 40.7% during the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 26,747 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $3,532,000 after acquiring an additional 7,735 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC grew its position in Valero Energy by 13.0% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,929 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $259,000 after buying an additional 222 shares during the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL acquired a new position in shares of Valero Energy during the second quarter worth about $528,000. Sei Investments Co. raised its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 11.3% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 269,043 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $36,165,000 after buying an additional 27,291 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina lifted its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 145,810 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $19,600,000 after buying an additional 1,338 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.69% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Eric Fisher sold 7,500 shares of Valero Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.36% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VLO has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Valero Energy from $232.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, June 12th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Valero Energy from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $289.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $338.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $286.00 to $357.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Valero Energy presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $296.18.

Valero Energy Stock Up 0.1%

Valero Energy stock opened at $370.94 on Tuesday. Valero Energy Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $153.20 and a fifty-two week high of $375.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $106.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 0.57. The stock's fifty day moving average is $317.34 and its two-hundred day moving average is $266.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 1.64.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The oil and gas company reported $12.54 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $10.11 by $2.43. Valero Energy had a net margin of 5.17% and a return on equity of 26.74%. The business had revenue of $44.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $39.47 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.28 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 48.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Valero Energy Corporation will post 41.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 31st were paid a dividend of $1.20 per share. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 31st. Valero Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.92%.

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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