Henrickson Nauta Wealth Advisors Inc. Invests $385,000 in Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Henrickson Nauta Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 2,160 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $385,000.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Valero Energy by 2.5% during the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,724,707 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,576,035,000 after buying an additional 286,942 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Valero Energy in the second quarter valued at approximately $827,390,000. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 5.0% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,273,517 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $897,869,000 after buying an additional 249,195 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 4,143,672 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $705,502,000 after acquiring an additional 209,597 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi boosted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 3.3% during the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 2,381,316 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $331,415,000 after acquiring an additional 77,070 shares during the period. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Valero Energy

In related news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 8,311 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.69, for a total transaction of $1,892,331.59. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 42,242 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,618,080.98. This trade represents a 16.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VLO has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup increased their price target on Valero Energy from $190.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Valero Energy in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Bank of America reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $195.00 price objective (down from $198.00) on shares of Valero Energy in a report on Thursday, December 11th. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Valero Energy in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Valero Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $193.20.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:VLO opened at $240.26 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $203.25 and a 200 day simple moving average of $180.83. The stock has a market cap of $71.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.45, a PEG ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 0.70. Valero Energy Corporation has a 1-year low of $99.00 and a 1-year high of $247.73. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The oil and gas company reported $3.82 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.27 by $0.55. The firm had revenue of $30.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $28.20 billion. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 12.35% and a net margin of 1.91%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.64 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Valero Energy Corporation will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 5th were paid a $1.20 dividend. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. This is a boost from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.13. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 5th. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 62.83%.

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.