Waterloo Capital L.P. Grows Stock Holdings in Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Waterloo Capital L.P. grew its position in shares of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) by 20.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,561 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 767 shares during the quarter. Waterloo Capital L.P.’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $613,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Sierra Summit Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at $202,000. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Valero Energy by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 9,453 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,261,000 after buying an additional 178 shares during the period. Vestor Capital LLC increased its stake in Valero Energy by 11.5% in the 2nd quarter. Vestor Capital LLC now owns 1,839 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $247,000 after buying an additional 189 shares in the last quarter. Cynosure Group LLC raised its holdings in Valero Energy by 29.6% during the second quarter. Cynosure Group LLC now owns 3,449 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $464,000 after acquiring an additional 787 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 2.5% in the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,724,707 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,576,035,000 after acquiring an additional 286,942 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Valero Energy Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of VLO stock opened at $174.42 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $53.20 billion, a PE ratio of 36.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.01. Valero Energy Corporation has a 1 year low of $99.00 and a 1 year high of $185.62. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $169.03 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $150.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 1.09.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The oil and gas company reported $3.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.15 by $0.51. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 8.69% and a net margin of 1.21%.The firm had revenue of $32.17 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $28.80 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.14 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Valero Energy Corporation will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 20th will be paid a $1.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 20th. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 94.36%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Jason W. Fraser sold 9,933 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.02, for a total value of $1,728,540.66. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 134,196 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,352,787.92. This trade represents a 6.89% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VLO has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley downgraded Valero Energy from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $160.00 to $175.00 in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $183.00 price objective on shares of Valero Energy in a report on Friday, October 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $177.00 to $197.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $181.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Valero Energy in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Valero Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $182.00.

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.