Apella Capital LLC Increases Holdings in Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Apella Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) by 199.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,301 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,195 shares during the quarter. Apella Capital LLC’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $1,557,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC grew its position in shares of Valero Energy by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC now owns 975 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $159,000 after buying an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC boosted its stake in Valero Energy by 32.9% during 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 last quarter. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Valero Energy by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 9,610 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,564,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC increased its position in shares of Valero Energy by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 3,788 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $617,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Prospera Financial Services Inc increased its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 16,268 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,651,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Valero Energy Stock Up 1.6%

Shares of VLO opened at $259.05 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.58. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $246.28 and a 200-day simple moving average of $217.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $76.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.83, a P/E/G ratio of 0.36 and a beta of 0.55. Valero Energy Corporation has a 52 week low of $130.78 and a 52 week high of $265.61.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The oil and gas company reported $4.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.16 by $1.06. Valero Energy had a net margin of 3.37% and a return on equity of 15.94%. The business had revenue of $32.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.38 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.89 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Valero Energy Corporation will post 27.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 21st were paid a $1.20 dividend. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 21st. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is presently 34.88%.

Insider Transactions at Valero Energy

In other Valero Energy news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.90, for a total transaction of $1,776,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 27,242 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,453,629.80. This represents a 21.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on VLO shares. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $246.00 to $259.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $184.00 to $261.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Scotiabank boosted 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. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Valero Energy from $220.00 to $292.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Valero Energy from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Valero Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $245.59.

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.