Valero Energy Corporation $VLO Stock Holdings Lessened by Alyeska Investment Group L.P.

Key Points

• Alyeska Investment Group reduced its Valero Energy stake by 25.9% in the second quarter, selling 25,948 shares and retaining 74,429 shares valued at approximately $19.4 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 78.69% of VLO.
• Wall Street analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus, with an average price target of $288, despite recent target increases from UBS, Wells Fargo, TD Cowen, Barclays, and Mizuho.
• Valero reported strong quarterly results, earning $12.54 per share versus the $10.11 estimate, while revenue rose 48.8% year over year to $44.48 billion. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $1.20 per share, equivalent to a 1.3% annual yield.

Alyeska Investment Group L.P. lessened its stake in shares of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO - Free Report) by 25.9% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 74,429 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 25,948 shares during the period. Alyeska Investment Group L.P.'s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $19,384,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the period. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in Valero Energy during the 1st quarter worth 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. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on VLO shares. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $280.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Mizuho raised their price objective 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. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $292.00 to $356.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $338.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Valero Energy from $279.00 to $323.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Valero Energy currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $288.00.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

VLO stock opened at $359.97 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $305.88 and a 200 day simple moving average of $260.60. Valero Energy Corporation has a 52 week low of $150.10 and a 52 week high of $362.79. The stock has a market cap of $103.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.94, a P/E/G ratio of 0.23 and a beta of 0.55. 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 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $44.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $39.47 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.28 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 48.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Valero Energy Corporation will post 40.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Valero Energy news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 7,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the senior vice president owned 19,742 shares in the company, valued at $5,294,212.14. The trade was a 27.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.36% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Valero Energy Company 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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