Principal Financial Group Inc. Increases Stock Position in Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) by 2.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 363,212 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,881 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $94,595,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. V Square Quantitative Management LLC boosted its stake in Valero Energy by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 6,670 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,648,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. M.E. Allison & CO. Inc. grew its position in Valero Energy by 5.8% during the 2nd quarter. M.E. Allison & CO. Inc. now owns 916 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $239,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC increased its stake in Valero Energy by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC now owns 975 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $159,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the period. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC increased its stake in Valero Energy by 32.9% in the fourth quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 206 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the period. Finally, Gradient Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 1.1% in the second quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 4,810 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,253,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Valero Energy news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 7,500 shares of the business’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 owned 19,742 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,294,212.14. The trade was a 27.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Valero Energy Stock Down 0.5%

VLO stock opened at $341.36 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $98.29 billion, a PE ratio of 14.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.23 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a fifty day moving average of $283.92 and a 200-day moving average of $247.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 1.64. Valero Energy Corporation has a one year low of $135.01 and a one year high of $346.09.

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. The business had revenue of $44.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $39.47 billion. Valero Energy had a net margin of 5.17% and a return on equity of 26.74%. The business’s revenue was up 48.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.28 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Valero Energy Corporation will post 40.62 EPS for the current year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on VLO. Wolfe Research reiterated an “underperform” rating and set a $203.00 target price on shares of Valero Energy in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Citigroup boosted their price target on Valero Energy from $259.00 to $302.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Raymond James Financial upped their price objective on Valero Energy from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Valero Energy from $232.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their target price on 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 issued a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $288.00.

About Valero Energy

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.