Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) Shares Purchased by Semper Augustus Investments Group LLC

Semper Augustus Investments Group LLC raised its position in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 61.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 189,019 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 71,973 shares during the period. Valero Energy makes up about 4.1% of Semper Augustus Investments Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. Semper Augustus Investments Group LLC owned about 0.06% of Valero Energy worth $23,172,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of VLO. Rafferty Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Valero Energy by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 121,519 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $14,897,000 after acquiring an additional 1,572 shares in the last quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG bought a new position in shares of Valero Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $464,000. Recurrent Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 7.4% during the 4th quarter. Recurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 178,271 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $21,854,000 after purchasing an additional 12,346 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Valero Energy by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 64,743 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $7,937,000 after purchasing an additional 2,335 shares during the period. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its stake in Valero Energy by 37.9% during the 4th quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 24,647 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $3,021,000 after purchasing an additional 6,772 shares in the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $158.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Scotiabank cut their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $156.00 to $136.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. TD Cowen lowered their target price on Valero Energy from $121.00 to $118.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. Barclays boosted their price target on Valero Energy from $140.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Valero Energy from $152.00 to $147.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 28th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $151.93.

Valero Energy Stock Up 0.8%

NYSE:VLO opened at $135.33 on Friday. Valero Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $99.00 and a twelve month high of $167.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $120.83 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $128.51.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The oil and gas company reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.16 by ($0.27). The firm had revenue of $28.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $28.54 billion. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 9.58% and a net margin of 2.13%. Valero Energy’s quarterly revenue was down 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.82 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Valero Energy Co. will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 20th will be paid a $1.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 20th. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.34%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 159.72%.

Valero Energy Profile

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.