Sovereign Financial Group Inc. Purchases 2,934 Shares of Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Sovereign Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) by 155.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,822 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 2,934 shares during the quarter. Sovereign Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $1,191,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JPL Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Valero Energy in the third quarter worth about $27,000. Torren Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. AXS Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Valero Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. grew its position in shares of Valero Energy by 157.0% in the 4th quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. now owns 203 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the period. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC grew its position in shares of Valero Energy by 32.9% in the 4th quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 206 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the period. 78.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $236.90, for a total value of $1,776,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 27,242 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,453,629.80. This trade represents a 21.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Valero Energy Trading Up 3.0%

NYSE VLO opened at $243.30 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $72.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.68, a PEG ratio of 0.34 and a beta of 0.55. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $245.27 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $215.55. 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 Corporation has a 52 week low of $130.78 and a 52 week high of $265.61.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The oil and gas company reported $4.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.16 by $1.06. The firm 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%.The business’s revenue was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.89 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Valero Energy Corporation will post 27.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, May 21st will be issued a dividend of $1.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.88%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on VLO. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $236.00 to $263.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Raymond James Financial upped their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $215.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $203.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $246.00 to $259.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock 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.