Valero Energy Corporation $VLO Shares Purchased by Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC

Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC lifted its stake in Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) by 24.3% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 11,680 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,281 shares during the quarter. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $1,901,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Valero Energy in the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Torren Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Valero Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. AXS Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Valero Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 period. Finally, Triumph Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of Valero Energy in the third quarter valued at about $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

Shares of VLO opened at $258.27 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The stock has a market cap of $76.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.77, a PEG ratio of 0.37 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a 50-day moving average of $245.01 and a two-hundred day moving average of $211.65. Valero Energy Corporation has a 12-month low of $130.78 and a 12-month high of $265.61.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The oil and gas company reported $4.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.16 by $1.06. The company had revenue of $32.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.38 billion. Valero Energy had a net margin of 3.37% and a return on equity of 15.94%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.89 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Valero Energy Corporation will post 26.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VLO has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $220.00 to $292.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Valero Energy from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 4th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $178.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $222.00 to $289.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $243.65.

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.