Lido Advisors LLC Grows Stake in Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Lido Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) by 86.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 116,999 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 54,228 shares during the period. Lido Advisors LLC’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $19,920,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in VLO. JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Valero Energy during the third quarter valued at $27,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 66 shares during the period. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates purchased a new stake in Valero Energy in the third quarter worth about $34,000. Cypress Capital Management LLC WY bought a new position in Valero Energy during the 3rd quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Valero Energy by 145.3% during the 3rd quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 211 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 8,311 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.69, for a total transaction of $1,892,331.59. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 42,242 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,618,080.98. This represents a 16.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

VLO stock opened at $232.73 on Tuesday. Valero Energy Corporation has a one year low of $99.00 and a one year high of $240.27. The firm has a market cap of $69.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.46, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.64. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $198.88 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $178.59.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The oil and gas company reported $3.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.27 by $0.55. Valero Energy had a net margin of 1.91% and a return on equity of 12.35%. The firm had revenue of $30.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $28.20 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.64 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Valero Energy Corporation will post 7.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 9th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 5th were issued a $1.20 dividend. This is an increase from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.13. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 5th. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 62.83%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Argus upgraded shares of Valero Energy to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Valero Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $203.00 to $237.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Bank of America reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $195.00 price objective (down from $198.00) on shares of Valero Energy in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Valero Energy in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Valero Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $193.20.

Valero Energy 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.