Allstate Corp Acquires 12,982 Shares of Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Allstate Corp lifted its holdings in Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) by 118.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 23,926 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 12,982 shares during the quarter. Allstate Corp’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $3,895,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC boosted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC now owns 975 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $159,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the period. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 0.5% in the fourth 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 during the period. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC lifted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 3,788 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $617,000 after buying an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc boosted its stake in Valero Energy by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 16,268 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,651,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Montecito Bank & Trust boosted its stake in Valero Energy by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Montecito Bank & Trust now owns 3,909 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $636,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Valero Energy

In other news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 8,311 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.69, for a total transaction of $1,892,331.59. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 42,242 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,618,080.98. This represents a 16.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VLO has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Valero Energy from $220.00 to $292.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. UBS Group increased their price target on Valero Energy from $215.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. Argus raised Valero Energy to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. TD Cowen increased their price target on Valero Energy from $255.00 to $276.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Scotiabank increased their price target on Valero Energy from $178.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $243.65.

Valero Energy Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of VLO stock opened at $240.43 on Thursday. Valero Energy Corporation has a 1 year low of $125.10 and a 1 year high of $263.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $242.49 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $206.27. The company has a market cap of $71.39 billion, a PE ratio of 17.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.36 and a beta of 0.58.

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 business had revenue of $32.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 period in the prior year, the business posted $0.89 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Valero Energy Corporation will post 26.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

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

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.