Valero Energy Corporation $VLO Shares Sold by Castleark Management LLC

Key Points

• Castleark Management cut its Valero Energy stake by 58.4% in the first quarter, selling 10,340 shares and retaining 7,380 shares valued at approximately $1.82 million. Institutional investors collectively own 78.69% of VLO.
• Analysts remain broadly positive, with Valero receiving a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $266.71, despite recent targets ranging as high as $302.
• Valero reported first-quarter earnings of $4.22 per share, exceeding estimates of $3.16, while revenue rose 7% year over year to $32.38 billion. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $1.20 per share, equivalent to a 1.6% annualized yield.

Castleark Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO - Free Report) by 58.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,380 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 10,340 shares during the quarter. Castleark Management LLC's holdings in Valero Energy were worth $1,823,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of VLO. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 33.5% during the 4th 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 purchased a new position in Valero Energy during the fourth quarter worth approximately $954,000. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its stake in Valero Energy by 24.7% during the fourth quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 565,171 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $92,004,000 after buying an additional 112,118 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. grew its holdings in Valero Energy by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 212,104 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $37,812,000 after buying an additional 5,694 shares in the last quarter. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Valero Energy during the 4th quarter worth $1,079,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.69% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VLO has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $220.00 to $292.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $259.00 to $302.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 6th. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $222.00 to $289.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on Valero Energy from $261.00 to $279.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $266.71.

Valero Energy Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of VLO stock opened at $304.99 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $266.16 and a two-hundred day moving average of $235.67. The firm has a market cap of $90.56 billion, a PE ratio of 22.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.20 and a beta of 0.55. Valero Energy Corporation has a 1-year low of $130.78 and a 1-year high of $320.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.15.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The oil and gas company reported $4.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 last year, the company posted $0.89 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Valero Energy Corporation will post 36.46 EPS for the current year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 31st will be paid a $1.20 dividend. 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 1.6%. Valero Energy's payout ratio is presently 34.88%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 7,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.17, for a total value of $2,011,275.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 19,742 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,294,212.14. The trade was a 27.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.36% of the company's stock.

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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