LRT Capital Management LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

LRT Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) by 360.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 20,503 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 16,055 shares during the quarter. Valero Energy comprises about 2.3% of LRT Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 12th largest holding. LRT Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $3,491,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Lido Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Valero Energy by 86.4% in the third quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 116,999 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $19,920,000 after purchasing an additional 54,228 shares during the last quarter. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Valero Energy by 21.0% during the third quarter. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC now owns 80,005 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $13,622,000 after buying an additional 13,881 shares in the last quarter. JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. Hilltop Holdings Inc. increased its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 7.4% in the third quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. now owns 4,411 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $751,000 after buying an additional 304 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gotham Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Valero Energy by 81.8% in the third quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 71,382 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $12,153,000 after acquiring an additional 32,122 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Valero Energy

In other news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 8,311 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.69, for a total transaction of $1,892,331.59. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 42,242 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,618,080.98. This represents a 16.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Valero Energy Stock Up 0.9%

NYSE:VLO opened at $232.73 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $198.88 and a 200-day moving average of $178.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $69.59 billion, a PE ratio of 30.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.70. Valero Energy Corporation has a 52 week low of $99.00 and a 52 week high of $240.27.

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

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 9th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 5th were issued a dividend of $1.20 per share. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. This is a positive change from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.13. 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

VLO has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $190.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Valero Energy in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Argus raised shares of Valero Energy to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Mizuho reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $192.00 price target (up from $190.00) on shares of Valero Energy in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on Valero Energy from $169.00 to $184.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.