Crewe Advisors LLC Takes Position in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Crewe Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 456 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $78,000.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in Valero Energy by 10.6% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 43,597 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $6,178,000 after buying an additional 4,184 shares during the last quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Valero Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Advisor Resource Council purchased a new position in Valero Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $215,000. Mutual Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 7,239 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $941,000 after purchasing an additional 323 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CoreCap Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 32.2% in the 4th quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 1,867 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $243,000 after purchasing an additional 455 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Valero Energy

In other Valero Energy news, Director Kimberly S. Greene sold 720 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.12, for a total transaction of $113,846.40. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 13,314 shares in the company, valued at $2,105,209.68. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:VLO traded up $0.16 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $157.16. 580,480 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,060,256. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $153.75 and a 200-day simple moving average of $152.79. Valero Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $119.88 and a 52 week high of $184.79.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The oil and gas company reported $2.71 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.60 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $34.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $32.97 billion. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 24.82% and a net margin of 5.01%. Valero Energy’s revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $5.40 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Valero Energy Co. will post 13.18 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, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 1st will be given a $1.07 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 1st. This represents a $4.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.72%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.20%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the company. Scotiabank lifted their price target on Valero Energy from $165.00 to $173.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 12th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Valero Energy from $156.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday. Citigroup boosted their target price on Valero Energy from $160.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Valero Energy from $178.00 to $172.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Finally, Mizuho upgraded Valero Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $165.00 to $175.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $172.07.

About Valero Energy

Valero Energy Corporation manufactures, markets, and sells petroleum-based and low-carbon liquid transportation fuels and petrochemical products in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Latin America, Mexico, Peru, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Refining, Renewable Diesel, and Ethanol.