Fox Run Management L.L.C. Buys New Shares in Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Fox Run Management L.L.C. bought a new position in shares of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 1,572 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $409,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 18,177,191 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,959,065,000 after acquiring an additional 163,975 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,950,982 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,945,500,000 after purchasing an additional 63,919 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $1,111,542,000. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in Valero Energy by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,668,210 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $922,728,000 after purchasing an additional 394,693 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in Valero Energy by 11.4% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 5,033,310 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,243,630,000 after purchasing an additional 516,975 shares during the period. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on VLO. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $338.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Valero Energy from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $350.00 target price on shares of Valero Energy in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $286.00 to $357.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $279.00 to $323.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Valero Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $288.00.

Valero Energy Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of NYSE VLO opened at $341.36 on Friday. Valero Energy Corporation has a 52-week low of $135.01 and a 52-week high of $346.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 1.64. The business has a fifty day moving average of $283.92 and a two-hundred day moving average of $247.97. The stock has a market cap of $98.29 billion, a PE ratio of 14.16, a PEG ratio of 0.23 and a beta of 0.55.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The oil and gas company reported $12.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $10.11 by $2.43. The business had revenue of $44.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $39.47 billion. Valero Energy had a net margin of 5.17% and a return on equity of 26.74%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 48.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.28 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Valero Energy Corporation will post 40.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 31st will be given a $1.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 31st. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is 19.92%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Valero Energy news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the senior vice president directly owned 19,742 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,294,212.14. This represents a 27.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

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.