Ninety One SA PTY Ltd Acquires Shares of 76,514 Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

by · The Markets Daily

Ninety One SA PTY Ltd bought a new position in Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLOFree Report) in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm bought 76,514 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,952,000. Valero Energy makes up 1.9% of Ninety One SA PTY Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest holding.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Magnetar Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Valero Energy in the first quarter valued at approximately $227,000. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC lifted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 33.8% during the first quarter. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 10,552 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,394,000 after purchasing an additional 2,668 shares in the last quarter. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec boosted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 2.4% in the first quarter. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec now owns 76,800 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $10,144,000 after purchasing an additional 1,782 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Valero Energy by 81.2% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,413,182 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $186,498,000 after purchasing an additional 633,157 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its stake in Valero Energy by 4.3% during the 1st quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 504,397 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $66,616,000 after buying an additional 20,657 shares during the period. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Erste Group Bank began coverage on shares of Valero Energy in a report on Monday, November 10th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Raymond James Financial reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $195.00 price target (up previously from $181.00) on shares of Valero Energy in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Valero Energy from $181.00 to $194.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 10th. Bank of America restated a “neutral” rating and set a $195.00 price objective (down from $198.00) on shares of Valero Energy in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, Mizuho reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $192.00 target price (up from $190.00) on shares of Valero Energy in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Valero Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $183.20.

Read Our Latest Research Report on Valero Energy

Valero Energy Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of Valero Energy stock opened at $162.89 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $49.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.76. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $171.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $157.57. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. Valero Energy Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $99.00 and a fifty-two week high of $185.62.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLOGet Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The oil and gas company reported $3.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.15 by $0.51. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 8.69% and a net margin of 1.21%.The business had revenue of $32.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $28.80 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.14 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Valero Energy Corporation will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 20th were issued a $1.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 20th. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 94.36%.

Insider Activity at Valero Energy

In other news, CFO Jason W. Fraser sold 9,933 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.02, for a total transaction of $1,728,540.66. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 134,196 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,352,787.92. This represents a 6.89% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

About Valero Energy

(Free Report)

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.

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