AGF Management Ltd. Reduces Holdings in Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

AGF Management Ltd. decreased its position in shares of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) by 55.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 31,283 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 39,109 shares during the period. AGF Management Ltd.’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $5,326,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently 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 valued at $3,532,000 after purchasing an additional 7,735 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 13.0% during the second 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 period. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 9.8% during the second quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 4,171 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $561,000 after buying an additional 371 shares during the last quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 126.4% in the second quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 6,477 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $871,000 after buying an additional 3,616 shares during the period. Finally, Valeo Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 183.4% during the 2nd quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 7,193 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $967,000 after acquiring an additional 4,655 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Valero Energy

In other news, CFO Jason W. Fraser sold 9,933 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.02, for a total value of $1,728,540.66. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 134,196 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,352,787.92. This trade represents a 6.89% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:VLO opened at $192.71 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $175.73 and a 200 day moving average of $164.44. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The company has a market capitalization of $58.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.77. Valero Energy Corporation has a 52 week low of $99.00 and a 52 week high of $194.50.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The oil and gas company reported $3.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.27 by $0.55. The business had revenue of $30.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $28.20 billion. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 1.91%.The business’s revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.64 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Valero Energy Corporation will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 9th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 5th will be 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 2.5%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 5th. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 59.16%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on VLO. Wall Street Zen downgraded Valero Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 3rd. Bank of America restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $195.00 price target (down from $198.00) on shares of Valero Energy in a report on Thursday, December 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $197.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Finally, Mizuho restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $192.00 target price (up from $190.00) on shares of Valero Energy in a research note on Friday, December 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $183.53.

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.