Panagora Asset Management Inc. Buys 238,645 Shares of Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Panagora Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) by 4,044.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 244,546 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 238,645 shares during the quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. owned 0.08% of Valero Energy worth $39,810,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. JPL Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Valero Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Torren Management LLC bought a new stake in Valero Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. AXS Investments LLC bought a new stake in Valero Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC lifted its position in Valero Energy by 32.9% in the fourth quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 206 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Triumph Capital Management bought a new stake in Valero Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VLO has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised Valero Energy from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 4th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Valero Energy from $255.00 to $276.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $280.00 target price on shares of Valero Energy in a research note on Thursday. Weiss Ratings raised Valero Energy from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Raymond James Financial boosted their target price on Valero Energy from $215.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $245.59.

Valero Energy Price Performance

VLO opened at $247.12 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.58. Valero Energy Corporation has a 52-week low of $130.78 and a 52-week high of $265.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $73.38 billion, a PE ratio of 17.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.38 and a beta of 0.55. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $245.57 and its 200-day moving average price is $213.33.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last posted its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $32.38 billion for 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 business’s revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.89 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Valero Energy Corporation will post 26.83 EPS for the current year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, May 21st will be paid a $1.20 dividend. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.88%.

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.