Diversify Advisory Services LLC Invests $1 Million in Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Diversify Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 3,841 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,000,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VLO. Whipplewood Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 3,400.0% during the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 105 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Valero Energy by 134.0% in the 1st quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 117 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Global Assets Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Valero Energy in the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Valero Energy during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VLO has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $280.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Zacks Research raised Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Valero Energy from $286.00 to $357.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Mizuho raised their price objective on Valero Energy from $289.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Valero Energy from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $288.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Valero Energy news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.17, for a total value of $2,011,275.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 19,742 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,294,212.14. This represents a 27.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Valero Energy Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of NYSE:VLO opened at $345.99 on Thursday. Valero Energy Corporation has a 12-month low of $137.88 and a 12-month high of $351.00. The company has a market capitalization of $99.62 billion, a PE ratio of 14.36, a PEG ratio of 0.23 and a beta of 0.55. The business has a 50 day moving average of $289.39 and a two-hundred day moving average of $251.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The oil and gas company reported $12.54 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.11 by $2.43. The business had revenue of $44.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $39.47 billion. Valero Energy had a net margin of 5.17% and a return on equity of 26.74%. The business’s revenue was up 48.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.28 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Valero Energy Corporation will post 40.62 EPS for the current year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 31st. Investors of record on Friday, July 31st will be given a dividend of $1.20 per share. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 31st. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.92%.

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.