Sienna Gestion Purchases Shares of 7,915 Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Sienna Gestion purchased a new stake in Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund purchased 7,915 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,298,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Woodline Partners LP raised its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 40.7% in the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 26,747 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,532,000 after buying an additional 7,735 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 13.0% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,929 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $259,000 after buying an additional 222 shares in the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL acquired a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the 2nd quarter worth about $528,000. Sei Investments Co. increased its position in shares of Valero Energy by 11.3% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 269,043 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $36,165,000 after purchasing an additional 27,291 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina increased its position in shares of Valero Energy by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 145,810 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $19,600,000 after purchasing an additional 1,338 shares in the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Valero Energy Stock Down 4.5%

Valero Energy stock opened at $247.12 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $245.57 and its 200 day simple moving average is $213.33. Valero Energy Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $130.78 and a fifty-two week high of $265.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $73.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.96, a PEG ratio of 0.38 and a beta of 0.55. 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 data on Thursday, April 30th. The oil and gas company reported $4.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $32.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.38 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.89 EPS. Valero Energy’s quarterly revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Valero Energy Corporation will post 26.83 EPS for the current year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be issued a $1.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.88%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VLO has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wolfe Research reiterated an “underperform” rating and set a $203.00 target price on shares of Valero Energy in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $255.00 to $276.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $222.00 to $289.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $220.00 to $292.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Finally, Citigroup increased 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 analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $245.59.

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.