Thomasville National Bank Grows Stock Position in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Thomasville National Bank raised its holdings in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 1.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 34,133 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 354 shares during the quarter. Thomasville National Bank’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $5,826,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VLO. Morgan Stanley increased its position in Valero Energy by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 8,961,603 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,269,949,000 after purchasing an additional 517,068 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $570,428,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of Valero Energy by 3.2% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,899,875 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $552,651,000 after buying an additional 121,057 shares during the last quarter. Putnam Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Putnam Investments LLC now owns 3,445,821 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $447,957,000 after buying an additional 122,207 shares during the period. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Valero Energy by 14.0% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,788,994 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $362,569,000 after acquiring an additional 342,218 shares during the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Valero Energy

In related news, Director Kimberly S. Greene sold 720 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.12, for a total value of $113,846.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 13,314 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,105,209.68. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.04% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Valero Energy Price Performance

VLO traded up $2.52 during trading on Thursday, reaching $152.46. The stock had a trading volume of 3,202,400 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,094,879. Valero Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $108.28 and a 1-year high of $184.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $49.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.47. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $159.11 and a two-hundred day moving average of $148.87. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The oil and gas company reported $3.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.18 by $0.64. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 24.82% and a net margin of 5.01%. The business had revenue of $31.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $32.02 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $8.27 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Valero Energy Co. will post 17.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 30th will be given a $1.07 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 30th. This represents a $4.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.81%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.20%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Valero Energy from $130.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Barclays dropped their target price on Valero Energy from $179.00 to $173.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. Bank of America raised shares of Valero Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $156.00 to $210.00 in a report on Friday, March 15th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $167.00 to $197.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their price objective on Valero Energy from $190.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $172.00.

About Valero Energy

Valero Energy Corporation manufactures, markets, and sells petroleum-based and low-carbon liquid transportation fuels and petrochemical products in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Latin America, Mexico, Peru, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Refining, Renewable Diesel, and Ethanol.