Ninety One UK Ltd Takes Position in Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Ninety One UK Ltd bought a new position in shares of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 33,065 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,630,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of VLO. Hoey Investments Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the second quarter worth $26,000. GFG Capital LLC purchased a new position in Valero Energy during the second quarter worth about $27,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in Valero Energy by 70.2% in the 3rd quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 160 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in Valero Energy by 1,277.8% in the 2nd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 248 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 230 shares during the period. Finally, Global Wealth Strategies & Associates acquired a new position in shares of Valero Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Valero Energy news, CFO Jason W. Fraser sold 9,933 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 21st. The shares were 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 $23,352,787.92. This represents a 6.89% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $195.00 target price (down from $198.00) on shares of Valero Energy in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Mizuho restated a “neutral” rating and set a $192.00 price objective (up from $190.00) on shares of Valero Energy in a report on Friday, December 12th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $195.00 target price (up from $181.00) on shares of Valero Energy in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Morgan Stanley cut Valero Energy from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $160.00 to $175.00 in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Valero Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, December 6th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $183.20.

Valero Energy Price Performance

VLO opened at $162.89 on Friday. Valero Energy Corporation has a twelve month low of $99.00 and a twelve month high of $185.62. The firm has a market cap of $49.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.01, a PEG ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a current ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $171.77 and a 200 day simple moving average of $157.61.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The oil and gas company reported $3.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.15 by $0.51. The company 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 revenue was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.14 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Valero Energy Corporation will post 7.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 20th were paid a dividend of $1.13 per share. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 20th. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 94.36%.

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.