Applied Finance Capital Management LLC Increases Holdings in Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Applied Finance Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) by 13.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 115,183 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 13,923 shares during the period. Valero Energy makes up 1.4% of Applied Finance Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest position. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $19,612,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of VLO. Highline Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in Valero Energy by 70.2% in the third quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 160 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in Valero Energy by 1,277.8% in the 2nd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 248 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 230 shares in the last quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates purchased a new stake in Valero Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at $34,000. Cypress Capital Management LLC WY bought a new stake in shares of Valero Energy in the 3rd quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 145.3% in the third quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 211 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on VLO. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Valero Energy from $217.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Valero Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $197.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $169.00 to $184.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $187.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Valero Energy news, CFO Jason W. Fraser sold 9,933 shares of Valero Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.02, for a total transaction of $1,728,540.66. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 134,196 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,352,787.92. The trade was a 6.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

Valero Energy Price Performance

Shares of Valero Energy stock opened at $201.43 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $61.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.37, a P/E/G ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.60. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $177.52 and its 200 day moving average is $165.96. Valero Energy Corporation has a one year low of $99.00 and a one year high of $204.14.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The oil and gas company reported $3.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.27 by $0.55. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 1.91%.The business had revenue of $30.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $28.20 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.64 earnings per share. Valero Energy’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Valero Energy Corporation will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 5th will be issued a $1.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 5th. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. This is a positive change from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.13. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is currently 62.83%.

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.