Valero Energy Corporation $VLO Shares Sold by KBC Group NV

KBC Group NV decreased its holdings in shares of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) by 23.7% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 149,434 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 46,443 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV owned about 0.05% of Valero Energy worth $38,919,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Valero Energy by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 18,177,191 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,959,065,000 after acquiring an additional 163,975 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,950,982 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,945,500,000 after purchasing an additional 63,919 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Valero Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,111,542,000. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,668,210 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $922,728,000 after purchasing an additional 394,693 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 11.4% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 5,033,310 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,243,630,000 after purchasing an additional 516,975 shares during the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Valero Energy Price Performance

VLO stock opened at $341.36 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $283.92 and its 200 day moving average price is $247.97. Valero Energy Corporation has a 12-month low of $135.01 and a 12-month high of $346.09. The company has a market capitalization of $98.29 billion, a PE ratio of 14.16, a P/E/G ratio of 0.23 and a beta of 0.55. 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 results on Thursday, July 30th. The oil and gas company reported $12.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.11 by $2.43. Valero Energy had a net margin of 5.17% and a return on equity of 26.74%. The company had revenue of $44.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $39.47 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.28 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 48.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Valero Energy Corporation will post 40.62 EPS for the current year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VLO has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Barclays boosted their price objective on Valero Energy from $279.00 to $323.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Valero Energy from $292.00 to $356.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $329.00 price target on shares of Valero Energy in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. UBS Group upped 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. Finally, Wolfe Research restated an “underperform” rating and set a $203.00 price objective on shares of Valero Energy in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. 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 assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Valero Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $288.00.

Insider Activity at Valero Energy

In other news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.17, for a total transaction of $2,011,275.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 19,742 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,294,212.14. This represents a 27.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Valero Energy Company 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.