Hsbc Holdings PLC Purchases 20,234 Shares of Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its holdings in Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 743,997 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 20,234 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned 0.26% of Valero Energy worth $194,174,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in VLO. Whipplewood Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Valero Energy by 3,400.0% during the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 105 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Valero Energy by 134.0% in the 1st quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 117 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the period. Global Assets Advisory LLC bought a new stake in Valero Energy in the first quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, JPL Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Valero Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on VLO shares. Jefferies Financial Group set a $350.00 target price on shares of Valero Energy in a report on Monday, August 3rd. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Valero Energy from $338.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Mizuho upped their price objective on Valero Energy from $289.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Raymond James Financial upped their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Valero Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $296.18.

Insider Buying and Selling at Valero Energy

In other news, SVP Eric 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 value of $2,011,275.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 19,742 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,294,212.14. This represents a 27.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.36% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Valero Energy Price Performance

Shares of VLO opened at $370.94 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. Valero Energy Corporation has a twelve month low of $153.20 and a twelve month high of $375.11. The company has a 50 day moving average of $315.25 and a 200-day moving average of $265.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $106.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.39, a P/E/G ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 0.57.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The oil and gas company reported $12.54 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $10.11 by $2.43. Valero Energy had a net margin of 5.17% and a return on equity of 26.74%. The firm had revenue of $44.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $39.47 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.28 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 48.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Valero Energy Corporation will post 41.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 31st. Investors of record on Friday, July 31st were issued a dividend of $1.20 per share. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 31st. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is presently 19.92%.

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.