CenterBook Partners LP Acquires Shares of 7,051 Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

CenterBook Partners LP bought a new position in Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 7,051 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,148,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Valero Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,111,542,000. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of Valero Energy by 5.0% during 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 acquiring an additional 249,195 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in Valero Energy by 5.3% in 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 last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its position in Valero Energy by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,904,181 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $324,206,000 after acquiring an additional 43,237 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership purchased a new stake in Valero Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at $275,239,000. 78.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Valero Energy Stock Up 1.8%

Shares of VLO stock opened at $258.27 on Thursday. 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 $265.61. The stock has a market cap of $76.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.77, a P/E/G ratio of 0.37 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $245.01 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $211.65.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The oil and gas company reported $4.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.16 by $1.06. The firm had revenue of $32.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.38 billion. Valero Energy had a net margin of 3.37% and a return on equity of 15.94%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.89 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Valero Energy Corporation will post 26.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be issued a dividend of $1.20 per share. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is currently 34.88%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on VLO. Scotiabank increased their price objective on Valero Energy from $178.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $184.00 to $261.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $222.00 to $289.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Citigroup increased their price target on Valero Energy from $246.00 to $259.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Raymond James Financial raised their price target on Valero Energy from $215.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Valero Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $243.65.

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.