Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC Acquires 13,881 Shares of Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) by 21.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 80,005 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 13,881 shares during the quarter. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $13,622,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of VLO. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,724,707 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,576,035,000 after purchasing an additional 286,942 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Valero Energy during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $827,390,000. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in Valero Energy by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,273,517 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $897,869,000 after purchasing an additional 249,195 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in Valero Energy by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 4,143,672 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $705,502,000 after purchasing an additional 209,597 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi boosted its position in Valero Energy by 3.3% in the second quarter. Amundi now owns 2,381,316 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $331,415,000 after buying an additional 77,070 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Valero Energy

In other news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 8,311 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.69, for a total transaction of $1,892,331.59. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 42,242 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,618,080.98. This represents a 16.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

Valero Energy Price Performance

Valero Energy stock opened at $230.57 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $68.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.18, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.70. Valero Energy Corporation has a 52-week low of $99.00 and a 52-week high of $240.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.64. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $197.83 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $178.02.

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

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 9th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 5th were issued a dividend of $1.20 per share. This is an increase from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.13. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 5th. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 62.83%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Mizuho reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $192.00 target price (up from $190.00) on shares of Valero Energy in a research note on Friday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Valero Energy from $197.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Citigroup upped their target price on Valero Energy from $190.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Valero Energy from $203.00 to $237.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Bank of America reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $195.00 price target (down from $198.00) on shares of Valero Energy in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Valero Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $193.20.

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.