S Harris Financial Group LLC Buys Shares of 2,673 Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

S Harris Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 2,673 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $435,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Woodline Partners LP increased its position in shares of Valero Energy by 40.7% during the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 26,747 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,532,000 after acquiring an additional 7,735 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 13.0% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,929 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $259,000 after acquiring an additional 222 shares during the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL purchased a new position in shares of Valero Energy during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $528,000. Sei Investments Co. boosted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 11.3% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 269,043 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $36,165,000 after purchasing an additional 27,291 shares during the period. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina increased its holdings in Valero Energy by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 145,810 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $19,600,000 after purchasing an additional 1,338 shares during the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Valero Energy

In other news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $236.90, for a total transaction of $1,776,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 27,242 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,453,629.80. This represents a 21.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Valero Energy from $220.00 to $292.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Wall Street Zen upgraded Valero Energy from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, April 4th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $280.00 target price on shares of Valero Energy in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. Raymond James Financial lifted their target price on Valero Energy from $215.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. Finally, Wolfe Research reissued an “underperform” rating and set a $203.00 price target on shares of Valero Energy in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $245.59.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:VLO opened at $236.50 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.22 billion, a PE ratio of 17.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.34 and a beta of 0.55. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $245.11 and its 200 day moving average price is $214.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.15. Valero Energy Corporation has a 12 month low of $130.78 and a 12 month high of $265.61.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The oil and gas company reported $4.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.16 by $1.06. The firm had revenue of $32.38 billion during 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 firm’s revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.89 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Valero Energy Corporation will post 27.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The firm 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 dividend of $1.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.88%.

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.