AFG Fiduciary Services Limited Partnership Invests $5.27 Million in Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

AFG Fiduciary Services Limited Partnership acquired a new position in Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 32,374 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,270,000. Valero Energy makes up about 0.3% of AFG Fiduciary Services Limited Partnership’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest position.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in VLO. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Valero Energy during the second quarter valued at approximately $827,390,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership bought a new position in Valero Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $275,239,000. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of Valero Energy by 162.5% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 523,692 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $70,395,000 after purchasing an additional 324,174 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 2.5% during the 2nd 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 purchasing an additional 286,942 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 17.7% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,706,187 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $286,076,000 after purchasing an additional 256,373 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Valero Energy

In other news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 400 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.60, for a total transaction of $95,440.00. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:VLO opened at $241.85 on Friday. Valero Energy Corporation has a 12-month low of $99.00 and a 12-month high of $247.73. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $202.15 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $180.03. The firm has a market cap of $72.32 billion, a PE ratio of 31.66, a PEG ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 0.70. 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 results on Thursday, January 29th. The oil and gas company reported $3.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.27 by $0.55. The company had revenue of $30.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $28.20 billion. Valero Energy had a net margin of 1.91% and a return on equity of 12.35%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.64 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Valero Energy Corporation will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The business 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 represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. This is a boost from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.13. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is presently 62.83%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on VLO. Zacks Research cut shares of Valero Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Valero Energy in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 7th. Argus upgraded shares of Valero Energy to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Valero Energy in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Valero Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $193.20.

Valero Energy Company 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.