Magnetar Financial LLC Takes $4.53 Million Position in Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Magnetar Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 27,818 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,528,000.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. Torren Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. AXS Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 157.0% during the fourth quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. now owns 203 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the period. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 32.9% during the fourth quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 206 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $222.00 to $289.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $236.00 to $263.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $220.00 to $292.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price target on Valero Energy from $178.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $245.59.

Valero Energy Price Performance

Shares of VLO opened at $244.49 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $72.60 billion, a PE ratio of 17.77, a PEG ratio of 0.35 and a beta of 0.55. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $245.58 and its 200 day moving average price is $213.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.58. Valero Energy Corporation has a twelve month low of $130.78 and a twelve month high of $265.61.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The oil and gas company reported $4.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.16 by $1.06. The firm had revenue of $32.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.38 billion. Valero Energy had a net margin of 3.37% and a return on equity of 15.94%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.89 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Valero Energy Corporation will post 27.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, May 21st will be given a dividend of $1.20 per share. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.88%.

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.