Groupe la Francaise Decreases Position in Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Groupe la Francaise lessened its stake in Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) by 39.9% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,238 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 11,464 shares during the quarter. Groupe la Francaise’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $4,489,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 40,516.1% during the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 143,816,270 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $37,455,509,000 after purchasing an additional 143,462,183 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Valero Energy by 0.9% during 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 purchasing an additional 163,975 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in 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 buying an additional 63,919 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Valero Energy during the 4th quarter worth $1,111,542,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in Valero Energy by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,668,210 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $922,728,000 after buying an additional 394,693 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on VLO. Weiss Ratings upgraded Valero Energy from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $350.00 price target on Valero Energy in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Valero Energy from $329.00 to $435.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 3rd. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Valero Energy from $289.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Valero Energy from $356.00 to $389.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $296.18.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Eric Fisher sold 7,500 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 19,742 shares in the company, valued at $5,294,212.14. This trade represents a 27.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Valero Energy Stock Up 0.1%

NYSE:VLO opened at $370.94 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 1.64. The company has a market capitalization of $106.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 0.57. Valero Energy Corporation has a one year low of $153.20 and a one year high of $375.11. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $317.34 and a 200 day simple moving average of $266.53.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The oil and gas company reported $12.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $10.11 by $2.43. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 26.74% and a net margin of 5.17%.The firm had revenue of $44.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $39.47 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.28 earnings per share. Valero Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up 48.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Valero Energy Corporation will post 41.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 31st. Investors of record on Friday, July 31st were given a dividend of $1.20 per share. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 31st. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.92%.

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.