Bessemer Group Inc. Boosts Stake in Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) by 64.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 19,595 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 7,646 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc.’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $4,842,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC increased its stake in Valero Energy by 3,400.0% in the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 105 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. JPL Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Valero Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in shares of Valero Energy during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 134.0% in the first quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 117 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Torren Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:VLO opened at $313.68 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $260.29 and its 200 day moving average is $230.82. Valero Energy Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $130.78 and a fifty-two week high of $316.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $93.14 billion, a PE ratio of 22.80, a PEG ratio of 0.37 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.58.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last issued its quarterly 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. The company had revenue of $32.38 billion during 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%.Valero Energy’s revenue was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.89 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Valero Energy Corporation will post 32.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 31st will be issued a $1.20 dividend. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 31st. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.88%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Valero Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $178.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $232.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, June 12th. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $280.00 target price on shares of Valero Energy in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $253.06.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 7,500 shares of Valero Energy stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.17, for a total transaction of $2,011,275.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 19,742 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,294,212.14. The trade was a 27.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

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.