Valero Energy Corporation $VLO Shares Purchased by Convergence Investment Partners LLC

Key Points

• Convergence Investment Partners LLC boosted its Valero Energy stake by 13% in the first quarter, adding 3,280 shares and bringing its total to 28,465 shares valued at about $7.0 million.
• Valero reported strong quarterly results, posting EPS of $4.22 versus estimates of $3.16 and revenue of $32.38 billion, while also raising year-over-year revenue by 7%.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.20 per share payable August 31, and analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy with an average price target of $253.06.

Convergence Investment Partners LLC increased its holdings in Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO - Free Report) by 13.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 28,465 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after acquiring an additional 3,280 shares during the period. Valero Energy makes up about 1.2% of Convergence Investment Partners LLC's holdings, making the stock its 15th largest holding. Convergence Investment Partners LLC's holdings in Valero Energy were worth $7,033,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VLO. Whipplewood Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Valero Energy by 3,400.0% during 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 during the last quarter. Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in Valero Energy in the first quarter valued at about $28,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Valero Energy by 134.0% in 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 during the last quarter. Global Assets Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Valero Energy during the first quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Valero Energy during the third quarter worth about $27,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.69% of the company's stock.

Valero Energy Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of VLO opened at $313.68 on Tuesday. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $260.29 and its 200-day simple moving average is $230.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.58. Valero Energy Corporation has a 1 year low of $130.78 and a 1 year high of $316.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $93.14 billion, a PE ratio of 22.80, a P/E/G ratio of 0.37 and a beta of 0.55.

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 for the quarter, beating 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 quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.89 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Valero Energy Corporation will post 32.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 31st will be paid a $1.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 31st. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Valero Energy's payout ratio is 34.88%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Valero Energy

In other news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 7,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the senior vice president owned 19,742 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,294,212.14. This represents a 27.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.36% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on VLO shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $220.00 to $292.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $236.00 to $263.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $222.00 to $289.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Scotiabank boosted their target price on Valero Energy from $178.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on Valero Energy from $261.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $253.06.

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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