Valero Energy Corporation $VLO Shares Purchased by QRG Capital Management Inc.

QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) by 27.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 55,521 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 11,976 shares during the quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $13,718,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VLO. JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Valero Energy in the third quarter worth about $27,000. Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the first quarter worth about $28,000. Torren Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Valero Energy during the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. AXS Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Valero Energy during the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. raised its position in shares of Valero Energy by 157.0% in the 4th quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. now owns 203 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on VLO. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Valero Energy from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $261.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $232.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $222.00 to $289.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Valero Energy from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 6th. 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 issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Valero Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $247.59.

Valero Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE VLO opened at $267.99 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $249.73 and its 200 day moving average price is $220.63. The firm has a market cap of $79.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.48, a P/E/G ratio of 0.37 and a beta of 0.55. Valero Energy Corporation has a 52 week low of $130.78 and a 52 week high of $274.92. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The oil and gas company reported $4.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.16 by $1.06. Valero Energy had a net margin of 3.37% and a return on equity of 15.94%. The company had revenue of $32.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.38 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.89 EPS. Valero Energy’s quarterly revenue was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Valero Energy Corporation will post 28.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 21st were paid a $1.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.88%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Valero Energy

In related news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.17, for a total transaction of $2,011,275.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 19,742 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,294,212.14. This trade represents a 27.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.36% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.