S Harris Financial Group LLC Takes $435,000 Position in Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

S Harris Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 2,673 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $435,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in VLO. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Valero Energy during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,111,542,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership bought a new position in Valero Energy in the third quarter worth about $275,239,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 2,635.7% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 950,527 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $154,736,000 after buying an additional 915,782 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 49.3% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,696,811 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $276,224,000 after buying an additional 560,116 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,668,210 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $922,728,000 after buying an additional 394,693 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Valero Energy news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.90, for a total value of $1,776,750.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 27,242 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,453,629.80. This represents a 21.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Valero Energy Stock Up 0.1%

VLO stock opened at $236.50 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $70.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.34 and a beta of 0.55. Valero Energy Corporation has a 12 month low of $130.78 and a 12 month high of $265.61. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $245.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $214.85. 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) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The oil and gas company reported $4.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.16 by $1.06. The business had revenue of $32.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.38 billion. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 15.94% and a net margin of 3.37%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.89 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Valero Energy Corporation will post 27.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be issued a $1.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is presently 34.88%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on VLO. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $236.00 to $263.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Wall Street Zen raised Valero Energy from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 4th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Valero Energy from $232.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, June 12th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Valero Energy from $246.00 to $259.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, UBS Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $280.00 target price on shares of Valero Energy in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Valero Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $245.59.

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.