Applied Finance Capital Management LLC Purchases 13,923 Shares of Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Applied Finance Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) by 13.7% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 115,183 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 13,923 shares during the quarter. Valero Energy makes up 1.4% of Applied Finance Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest position. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $19,612,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in VLO. Rockland Trust Co. grew its position in shares of Valero Energy by 31.5% during the third quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 5,836 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $994,000 after purchasing an additional 1,399 shares in the last quarter. Navellier & Associates Inc. grew its holdings in Valero Energy by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Navellier & Associates Inc. now owns 18,164 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,093,000 after buying an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc raised its position in shares of Valero Energy by 0.8% during the third quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 16,215 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,764,000 after buying an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. Profund Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 0.6% in the third quarter. Profund Advisors LLC now owns 12,607 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,146,000 after buying an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 4.1% during the third quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 10,219 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,740,000 after acquiring an additional 405 shares during the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Valero Energy Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of VLO stock opened at $201.43 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $61.44 billion, a PE ratio of 26.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.77. Valero Energy Corporation has a 1 year low of $99.00 and a 1 year high of $204.14. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $177.52 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $165.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 1.09.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last released its earnings results 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. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 1.91%.The firm had revenue of $30.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $28.20 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.64 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Valero Energy Corporation will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 9th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 5th will be given a dividend of $1.20 per share. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. This is a positive change from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.13. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 5th. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.83%.

Insider Buying and Selling 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VLO has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $216.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 10th. Bank of America reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $195.00 target price (down from $198.00) on shares of Valero Energy in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Valero Energy from $217.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Valero Energy from $197.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on Valero Energy from $190.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $187.67.

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.