Valero Energy Corporation $VLO Shares Bought by Amundi

Amundi lifted its stake in shares of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,381,316 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 77,070 shares during the quarter. Amundi’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $331,415,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of VLO. Hoey Investments Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. GFG Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Valero Energy during the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its stake in Valero Energy by 1,277.8% during the second quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 248 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 230 shares in the last quarter. Ransom Advisory Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the first quarter worth about $43,000. Finally, Kiker Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Valero Energy by 466.1% in the second quarter. Kiker Wealth Management LLC now owns 334 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 275 shares in the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Valero Energy

In other Valero Energy news, CFO Jason W. Fraser sold 9,933 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.02, for a total transaction of $1,728,540.66. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 134,196 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,352,787.92. This represents a 6.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.04% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on VLO. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Valero Energy from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $160.00 to $175.00 in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 24th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $183.00 target price on shares of Valero Energy in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Mizuho lifted their price target on Valero Energy from $166.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 15th. Finally, Bank of America raised Valero Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $152.00 to $179.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Valero Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $182.00.

Valero Energy Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:VLO opened at $174.68 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $53.28 billion, a PE ratio of 36.47, a P/E/G ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.76. Valero Energy Corporation has a 1 year low of $99.00 and a 1 year high of $185.62. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $170.53 and a 200 day moving average price of $152.79.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The oil and gas company reported $3.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.15 by $0.51. The company had revenue of $32.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $28.80 billion. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 8.69% and a net margin of 1.21%.The business’s revenue was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.14 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Valero Energy Corporation will post 7.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 18th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 20th will be issued a $1.13 dividend. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 20th. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is 94.36%.

Valero Energy Profile

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.