Valero Energy Corporation $VLO Shares Bought by Journey Advisory Group LLC

Journey Advisory Group LLC raised its position in shares of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) by 23.3% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 21,676 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 4,098 shares during the quarter. Journey Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $5,356,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 3,400.0% during the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 105 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the period. JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Valero Energy in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in Valero Energy during the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Valero Energy by 134.0% during the 1st quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 117 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Torren Management LLC acquired a new stake in Valero Energy during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Valero Energy News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Valero Energy this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analyst sentiment improved after Citigroup raised its price target on Valero Energy from $259 to $302 while keeping a neutral rating, and the stock also hit a new 52-week high after the upgrade.
• Positive Sentiment: Recent reports say Valero shares may keep rising because earnings estimate revisions have turned more favorable, which often supports short-term upside for the stock. Can Valero Energy (VLO) Run Higher on Rising Earnings Estimates?
• Positive Sentiment: Momentum-focused coverage noted that Valero is up strongly over the past week, reinforcing the view that traders are rotating into the name. Valero Energy (VLO) Is Up 4.83% in One Week: What You Should Know
• Positive Sentiment: One article described Valero as a top-ranked value stock, which may help attract value-oriented investors looking for relatively cheap energy names. Valero Energy (VLO) is a Top-Ranked Value Stock: Should You Buy?
• Neutral Sentiment: Valero’s recent earnings results were already strong, with revenue and EPS beating expectations, but that data is not new; it mainly continues to support the bullish narrative.
• Neutral Sentiment: Unusual call-option activity suggests traders are positioning for more upside, but it does not confirm a fundamental change in the business.
• Negative Sentiment: Citigroup still rates the stock only “neutral,” so despite the higher target, the broader analyst view is not fully bullish.

Insider Transactions at Valero Energy

In other Valero Energy news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.17, for a total value of $2,011,275.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 19,742 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,294,212.14. This trade represents a 27.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on VLO. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a $203.00 price objective on shares of Valero Energy in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Valero Energy from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. 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. Raymond James Financial upped their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Valero Energy from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $253.06.

Valero Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE VLO opened at $293.27 on Thursday. 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 has a market capitalization of $87.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.31, a PEG ratio of 0.37 and a beta of 0.55. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $256.30 and its 200-day simple moving average is $227.80. Valero Energy Corporation has a 12 month low of $130.78 and a 12 month high of $301.43.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The oil and gas company reported $4.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.16 by $1.06. Valero Energy had a net margin of 3.37% and a return on equity of 15.94%. The firm had revenue of $32.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.38 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.89 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Valero Energy Corporation will post 32.04 EPS for the current year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 21st were given a dividend of $1.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. 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.