Fifth Third Bancorp Boosts Stake in Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Fifth Third Bancorp increased its holdings in shares of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) by 486.8% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 78,323 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 64,975 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $19,352,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Valero Energy during the 4th quarter worth $1,111,542,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership acquired a new stake in shares of Valero Energy in the third quarter valued at about $275,239,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 2,635.7% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 950,527 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $154,736,000 after purchasing an additional 915,782 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Valero Energy by 49.3% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,696,811 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $276,224,000 after buying an additional 560,116 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Valero Energy by 7.5% during 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 buying an additional 394,693 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 19,742 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,294,212.14. This represents a 27.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Valero Energy Stock Up 5.4%

Shares of NYSE VLO opened at $295.96 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $87.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.51, a P/E/G ratio of 0.35 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. Valero Energy Corporation has a 12-month low of $130.78 and a 12-month high of $297.66. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $254.22 and a 200 day moving average price of $225.92.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The oil and gas company reported $4.22 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.16 by $1.06. Valero Energy had a net margin of 3.37% and a return on equity of 15.94%. The firm had revenue of $32.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.38 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.89 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Valero Energy Corporation will post 31.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 21st were issued a dividend of $1.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 34.88%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VLO has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Valero Energy from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, April 4th. Weiss Ratings lowered Valero Energy from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. TD Cowen upped their price target on Valero Energy from $276.00 to $292.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. Barclays raised their price target on Valero Energy from $261.00 to $279.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price objective on Valero Energy from $222.00 to $289.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Valero Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $250.53.

Valero Energy 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.