Todd Asset Management LLC Purchases Shares of 93,275 Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Todd Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 93,275 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,293,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 3,400.0% during the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 105 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in Valero Energy in the first quarter worth approximately $28,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in 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 buying an additional 67 shares during the period. Global Assets Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Valero Energy during the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. 78.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Valero Energy

In other Valero Energy news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.17, for a total value of $2,011,275.00. Following the transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on VLO shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Valero Energy from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $259.00 to $302.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $329.00 price target on shares of Valero Energy in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Wolfe Research reiterated an “underperform” rating and set a $203.00 price objective on shares of Valero Energy in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Scotiabank increased 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 report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $288.00.

Valero Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:VLO opened at $341.36 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. Valero Energy Corporation has a twelve month low of $135.01 and a twelve month high of $346.09. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $283.92 and its 200-day moving average is $247.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $98.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.16, a PEG ratio of 0.23 and a beta of 0.55.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The oil and gas company reported $12.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.11 by $2.43. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 26.74% and a net margin of 5.17%.The company had revenue of $44.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $39.47 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.28 EPS. Valero Energy’s quarterly revenue was up 48.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Valero Energy Corporation will post 40.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 31st will be issued a dividend of $1.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 31st. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 19.92%.

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.