Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. Purchases 10,634 Shares of Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. grew its position in shares of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLOFree Report) by 33.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 42,376 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 10,634 shares during the quarter. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $6,898,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Valero Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 70.2% during the third quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 160 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates bought a new position in shares of Valero Energy during the third quarter valued at $34,000. Cypress Capital Management LLC WY purchased a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the third quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Triumph Capital Management bought a new stake in Valero Energy in the 3rd quarter worth about $35,000. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Valero Energy Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of VLO stock opened at $254.58 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.64 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The company has a market cap of $76.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.32, a PEG ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 0.70. Valero Energy Corporation has a 1 year low of $99.00 and a 1 year high of $255.97. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $209.25 and a 200-day moving average price of $184.01.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLOGet Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The oil and gas company reported $3.82 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.27 by $0.55. The company had revenue of $30.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $28.20 billion. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 12.35% and a net margin of 1.91%.Valero Energy’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.64 EPS. As a group, equities 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. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 5th were paid a $1.20 dividend. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. This is an increase from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.13. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 5th. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 62.83%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Valero Energy

In other news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 8,311 shares of Valero Energy stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.69, for a total transaction of $1,892,331.59. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 42,242 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,618,080.98. The trade was a 16.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on VLO shares. Raymond James Financial boosted their target price on Valero Energy from $215.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $203.00 to $237.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Valero Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Valero Energy to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. One equities research 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $199.53.

View Our Latest Stock Analysis on VLO

More Valero Energy News

Here are the key news stories impacting Valero Energy this week:

About Valero Energy

(Free Report)

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.

Read More

Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO)

Receive News & Ratings for Valero Energy Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Valero Energy and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.