Russell Investments Group Ltd. Sells 2,075 Shares of Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lessened its position in shares of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) by 0.3% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 670,160 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 2,075 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $175,361,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,111,542,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership acquired a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the third quarter worth $275,239,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Valero Energy by 2,635.7% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 950,527 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $154,736,000 after buying an additional 915,782 shares during the period. Amundi raised its stake in Valero Energy by 45.3% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 2,584,976 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $638,695,000 after buying an additional 806,018 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Valero Energy by 49.3% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,696,811 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $276,224,000 after buying an additional 560,116 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Valero Energy

In other news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 19,742 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,294,212.14. This represents a 27.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.36% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

Shares of VLO opened at $341.36 on Monday. Valero Energy Corporation has a one year low of $135.01 and a one year high of $346.09. The company has a market cap 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 stock has a 50-day moving average of $283.92 and a 200-day moving average of $248.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 1.64 and a quick ratio of 1.23.

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

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 31st will be issued a dividend of $1.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 31st. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is currently 19.92%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VLO has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $289.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Valero Energy from $286.00 to $357.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Zacks Research raised Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. TD Cowen upped their target price on Valero Energy from $338.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on Valero Energy from $259.00 to $302.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $288.00.

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.