Johnson Financial Group Inc. Boosts Holdings in Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Johnson Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) by 1,791.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,760 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,244 shares during the period. Johnson Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $2,542,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Valero Energy by 3,400.0% in the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 105 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in Valero Energy during the first quarter worth $28,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 134.0% in the first quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 117 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Global Assets Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the first quarter worth $33,000. Finally, JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Valero Energy in the third quarter valued at $27,000. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Zacks Research upgraded Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $279.00 to $323.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $338.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $286.00 to $357.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $289.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $288.00.

Valero Energy Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of NYSE:VLO opened at $345.99 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $289.39 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $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 Corporation has a 12-month low of $137.88 and a 12-month high of $351.00. The firm has a market cap of $99.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.36, a PEG ratio of 0.23 and a beta of 0.55.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The oil and gas company reported $12.54 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.11 by $2.43. The company had revenue of $44.48 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $39.47 billion. Valero Energy had a net margin of 5.17% and a return on equity of 26.74%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 48.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.28 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Valero Energy Corporation will post 40.62 EPS for the current year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The business 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 31st. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 19.92%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Valero Energy news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.17, for a total transaction of $2,011,275.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 19,742 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,294,212.14. This trade represents a 27.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

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.