Summit Global Investments Buys New Stake in Valero Energy Corporation (VLO)

Summit Global Investments bought a new stake in shares of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 4,700 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $312,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in VLO. Bragg Financial Advisors Inc increased its stake in shares of Valero Energy Corporation by 0.5% in the first quarter. Bragg Financial Advisors Inc now owns 38,024 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,521,000 after buying an additional 184 shares in the last quarter. Janus Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Valero Energy Corporation by 4.6% in the first quarter. Janus Capital Management LLC now owns 198,862 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $13,182,000 after buying an additional 8,814 shares during the period. First Financial Equity Corporation bought a new stake in Valero Energy Corporation during the first quarter worth about $217,000. Laffer Investments increased its stake in Valero Energy Corporation by 39.3% in the first quarter. Laffer Investments now owns 40,935 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,714,000 after buying an additional 11,555 shares during the period. Finally, Altavista Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in Valero Energy Corporation by 16.2% in the first quarter. Altavista Wealth Management Inc. now owns 22,802 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,512,000 after buying an additional 3,173 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 78.88% of the company’s stock.

Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) traded up 0.31% during trading on Friday, hitting $64.75. 3,082,623 shares of the stock were exchanged. Valero Energy Corporation has a 1-year low of $51.17 and a 1-year high of $71.40. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $67.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $66.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.98 and a beta of 1.21.

Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 27th. The oil and gas company reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.15. Valero Energy Corporation had a return on equity of 8.59% and a net margin of 2.17%. The business had revenue of $22.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.32 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.07 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Valero Energy Corporation will post $4.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 7th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 9th will be paid a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 7th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.32%. Valero Energy Corporation’s payout ratio is 69.14%.

VLO has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. US Capital Advisors restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Valero Energy Corporation in a report on Monday, May 22nd. BidaskClub downgraded shares of Valero Energy Corporation from a “sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Saturday. Piper Jaffray Companies restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Valero Energy Corporation in a report on Thursday, May 25th. Credit Suisse Group restated a “hold” rating and set a $65.00 price objective on shares of Valero Energy Corporation in a report on Wednesday, June 21st. Finally, Scotiabank set a $70.00 price objective on shares of Valero Energy Corporation and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. The company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $71.59.

In other Valero Energy Corporation news, Director Susan Kaufman Purcell sold 5,151 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.68, for a total value of $333,166.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 9,866 shares in the company, valued at approximately $638,132.88. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.45% of the company’s stock.

About Valero Energy Corporation

Valero Energy Corporation (Valero) is an independent petroleum refiner and ethanol producer. The Company’s segments include refining, ethanol and Valero Energy Partners LP (VLP). The refining segment includes its refining operations and the associated marketing activities. The ethanol segment includes its ethanol operations and the associated marketing activities, and logistics assets that support its ethanol operations.