Aristeia Capital L.L.C. Acquires New Position in Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Aristeia Capital L.L.C. acquired a new stake in Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 41,445 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,747,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in VLO. JPL Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Valero Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Torren Management LLC bought a new stake in Valero Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. AXS Investments LLC bought a new stake in Valero Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. raised its stake in Valero Energy by 157.0% in the 4th quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. now owns 203 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares during the period. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC raised its stake in Valero Energy by 32.9% in the 4th quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 206 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the period. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Valero Energy Stock Down 1.8%

VLO stock opened at $239.73 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $71.18 billion, a PE ratio of 17.42, a PEG ratio of 0.35 and a beta of 0.55. Valero Energy Corporation has a twelve month low of $130.78 and a twelve month high of $265.61. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $245.47 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $214.28.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.16 by $1.06. The business had revenue of $32.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.38 billion. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 15.94% and a net margin of 3.37%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.89 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Valero Energy Corporation will post 27.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be issued a dividend of $1.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is presently 34.88%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on VLO shares. Raymond James Financial boosted their price objective on Valero Energy from $215.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 25th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Valero Energy from $232.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, June 12th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Valero Energy from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 6th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $280.00 target price on shares of Valero Energy in a report on Thursday, June 11th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Valero Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $245.59.

Valero Energy Company 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.