Valero Energy Corporation $VLO Shares Purchased by Patton Fund Management Inc.

Key Points

• Patton Fund Management boosted its Valero stake by 2,047.9% in Q4, buying an additional 39,586 shares to own 41,519 shares worth about $6.76 million at quarter end.
• Wall Street sentiment is positive with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $227.73, while analysts including Barclays (PT $261), Goldman Sachs (PT $237) and Scotiabank (strong‑buy) have recently raised ratings/targets.
• Valero beat quarterly estimates with EPS of $3.82 vs. $3.27 and $30.37 billion in revenue, and the company raised its quarterly dividend to $1.20 ($4.80 annualized, ~2.0% yield).

Patton Fund Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO - Free Report) by 2,047.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 41,519 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after purchasing an additional 39,586 shares during the period. Patton Fund Management Inc.'s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $6,759,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Woodline Partners LP grew its holdings 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 worth $3,532,000 after acquiring an additional 7,735 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised 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 purchasing an additional 222 shares during the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL purchased a new position in Valero Energy during the 2nd quarter worth $528,000. Sei Investments Co. increased its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 11.3% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 269,043 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $36,165,000 after purchasing an additional 27,291 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina grew its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 1,338 shares during the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Argus raised shares of Valero Energy to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $184.00 to $261.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Scotiabank upgraded shares of Valero Energy to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $203.00 to $237.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $190.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $227.73.

Valero Energy Stock Up 1.2%

VLO stock opened at $241.72 on Tuesday. Valero Energy Corporation has a twelve month low of $106.25 and a twelve month high of $258.43. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The company has a market capitalization of $72.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.64, a PEG ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 0.62. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $222.32 and a 200-day simple moving average of $190.15.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The oil and gas company reported $3.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.27 by $0.55. Valero Energy had a net margin of 1.91% and a return on equity of 12.35%. The business had revenue of $30.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $28.20 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.64 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Valero Energy Corporation will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 9th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 5th were issued a $1.20 dividend. This is a boost from Valero Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $1.13. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 5th. Valero Energy's dividend payout ratio is presently 62.83%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Valero Energy news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 8,311 shares of Valero Energy stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.69, for a total value of $1,892,331.59. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 42,242 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,618,080.98. The trade was a 16.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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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