Valero Energy Corporation $VLO Shares Bought by KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS boosted its position in shares of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 226,561 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 700 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $30,454,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hoey Investments Inc. acquired a new position in Valero Energy during the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. Wayfinding Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Valero Energy during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. raised its stake in Valero Energy by 156.6% during the 1st quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 213 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Ransom Advisory Ltd purchased a new stake in Valero Energy during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Finally, Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Valero Energy during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on the company. Bank of America raised Valero Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $152.00 to $179.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. Wolfe Research downgraded Valero Energy from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Morgan Stanley downgraded Valero Energy from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $160.00 to $175.00 in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. Barclays upped their price objective on Valero Energy from $151.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Raymond James Financial increased their target price on Valero Energy from $170.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $168.07.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

Shares of VLO stock opened at $163.13 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $50.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 67.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a current ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $151.99 and a 200-day simple moving average of $137.36. Valero Energy Corporation has a 12-month low of $99.00 and a 12-month high of $178.43.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The oil and gas company reported $2.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.62. The business had revenue of $29.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $27 billion. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 5.76% and a net margin of 0.62%.The company’s revenue was down 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.71 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Valero Energy Corporation will post 7.92 EPS for the current year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, July 31st were issued a $1.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 188.33%.

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.