Fideuram Asset Management Ireland dac Takes Position in Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Fideuram Asset Management Ireland dac bought a new stake in Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 3,676 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $598,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. National Pension Service raised its holdings in Valero Energy by 3.6% during the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 491,134 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $83,620,000 after purchasing an additional 17,165 shares in the last quarter. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. raised its holdings in Valero Energy by 33.5% during the fourth quarter. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. now owns 42,376 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $6,898,000 after purchasing an additional 10,634 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in Valero Energy by 5.3% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 4,143,672 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $705,502,000 after purchasing an additional 209,597 shares in the last quarter. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Valero Energy by 13.7% during the third quarter. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC now owns 115,183 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $19,612,000 after purchasing an additional 13,923 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Friedenthal Financial purchased a new position in Valero Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $954,000. 78.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Valero Energy

In related news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.60, for a total transaction of $95,440.00. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on VLO. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Valero Energy from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Wolfe Research reissued an “underperform” rating and set a $203.00 price target on shares of Valero Energy in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Barclays increased their price target 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. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $220.00 to $292.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $246.00 to $259.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Two equities research 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 assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Valero Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $243.65.

Valero Energy Stock Up 0.1%

VLO stock opened at $245.08 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $242.80 and its 200-day simple moving average is $207.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $72.77 billion, a PE ratio of 17.81, a P/E/G ratio of 0.36 and a beta of 0.58. Valero Energy Corporation has a 12 month low of $125.10 and a 12 month 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.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The oil and gas company reported $4.22 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.16 by $1.06. The business had revenue of $32.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.38 billion. Valero Energy had a net margin of 3.37% and a return on equity of 15.94%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.89 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Valero Energy Corporation will post 26.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

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

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.