Rydar Equities Inc. Buys New Position in Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Rydar Equities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 3,485 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $468,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC boosted its position in Valero Energy by 14.3% during the first quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 10,361 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,368,000 after acquiring an additional 1,297 shares during the last quarter. Horizon Investments LLC increased its holdings in Valero Energy by 1.8% in the first quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 5,456 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $721,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Valero Energy by 9.5% in the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,894 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $910,000 after purchasing an additional 598 shares in the last quarter. Ethic Inc. lifted its stake in Valero Energy by 43.6% in the first quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 10,373 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,387,000 after buying an additional 3,150 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 170.7% during the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 199,518 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $26,350,000 after buying an additional 125,812 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Valero Energy Trading Down 2.1%

VLO opened at $168.25 on Monday. Valero Energy Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $99.00 and a fifty-two week high of $185.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.32 billion, a PE ratio of 35.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 1.09. The company’s 50-day moving average is $171.13 and its 200 day moving average is $154.68.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The oil and gas company reported $3.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.15 by $0.51. The business had revenue of $32.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $28.80 billion. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 8.69% and a net margin of 1.21%.The company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.14 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Valero Energy Corporation will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 18th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 20th will be issued a dividend of $1.13 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 20th. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 94.36%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Valero Energy news, CFO Jason W. Fraser sold 9,933 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.02, for a total transaction of $1,728,540.66. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on VLO shares. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $183.00 target price on shares of Valero Energy in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Bank of America reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $195.00 price objective (down previously from $198.00) on shares of Valero Energy in a report on Thursday. Erste Group Bank began coverage on shares of Valero Energy in a research report on Monday, November 10th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Valero Energy from $181.00 to $194.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 10th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on Valero Energy from $169.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Valero Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $183.20.

Valero Energy Profile

Valero Energy Corporation manufactures, markets, and sells petroleum-based and low-carbon liquid transportation fuels and petrochemical products in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Latin America, Mexico, Peru, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Refining, Renewable Diesel, and Ethanol.