Allstate Corp Takes Position in Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Allstate Corp acquired a new position in shares of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 10,944 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,863,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of VLO. Hoey Investments Inc. bought a new position in Valero Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. GFG Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Valero Energy in the second quarter worth about $27,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in Valero Energy by 70.2% in the 3rd quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 160 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 1,277.8% in the 2nd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 248 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 230 shares during the period. Finally, Global Wealth Strategies & Associates purchased a new position in Valero Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. Institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VLO has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley cut shares of Valero Energy from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $160.00 to $175.00 in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Erste Group Bank assumed coverage on shares of Valero Energy in a research note on Monday, November 10th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $169.00 to $184.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 17th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Valero Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $183.00.

Valero Energy Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of VLO stock opened at $184.75 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $174.18 and its 200 day moving average price is $161.85. The company has a market cap of $56.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.77. Valero Energy Corporation has a 1-year low of $99.00 and a 1-year high of $192.00. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 23rd. The oil and gas company reported $3.66 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.15 by $0.51. Valero Energy had a net margin of 1.21% and a return on equity of 8.69%. The business had revenue of $32.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $28.80 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.14 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Valero Energy Corporation will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 20th were paid a dividend of $1.13 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 20th. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 94.36%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Jason W. Fraser sold 9,933 shares of Valero Energy stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.02, for a total value of $1,728,540.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 134,196 shares in the company, valued at $23,352,787.92. The trade was a 6.89% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.