AIA Group Ltd Buys Shares of 45,100 Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

AIA Group Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 45,100 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,679,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in 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 valued at $1,576,035,000 after buying an additional 286,942 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the second quarter worth about $827,390,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 5.0% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,273,517 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $897,869,000 after acquiring an additional 249,195 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 5.3% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 4,143,672 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $705,502,000 after acquiring an additional 209,597 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi raised its position in shares of Valero Energy by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 2,381,316 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $331,415,000 after purchasing an additional 77,070 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Valero Energy

In related news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.60, for a total value of $95,440.00. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.04% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Valero Energy Stock Up 1.2%

Valero Energy stock opened at $238.73 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $71.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 0.70. Valero Energy Corporation has a 52 week low of $99.00 and a 52 week high of $242.56. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $201.14 and its 200 day moving average price is $179.60. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The oil and gas company reported $3.82 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.27 by $0.55. The business had revenue of $30.37 billion for 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 quarterly revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.64 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Valero Energy Corporation will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 9th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 5th were issued a $1.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 5th. 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 2.0%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 62.83%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VLO has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Argus upgraded shares of Valero Energy to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Valero Energy in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $190.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Bank of America reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $195.00 price objective (down from $198.00) on shares of Valero Energy in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Valero Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $193.20.

About Valero Energy

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.