Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership Has $702.28 Million Stake in Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings in Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) by 18.4% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 2,842,339 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 442,177 shares during the quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $702,285,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Woodline Partners LP grew its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 40.7% during the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 26,747 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $3,532,000 after purchasing an additional 7,735 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in Valero Energy by 13.0% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,929 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $259,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares in the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL bought a new stake in Valero Energy during the second quarter worth about $528,000. Sei Investments Co. increased its stake in Valero Energy by 11.3% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 269,043 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $36,165,000 after acquiring an additional 27,291 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina raised its position in Valero Energy by 0.9% during the second quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 145,810 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $19,600,000 after purchasing an additional 1,338 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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 stock in a transaction on Monday, June 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.17, for a total transaction of $2,011,275.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 19,742 shares in the company, valued at $5,294,212.14. This represents a 27.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Valero Energy Trading Down 2.0%

Shares of VLO stock opened at $304.63 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $90.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.14, a PEG ratio of 0.37 and a beta of 0.55. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $264.18 and a 200-day moving average of $233.91. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. Valero Energy Corporation has a 1-year low of $130.78 and a 1-year high of $320.24.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The oil and gas company reported $4.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.16 by $1.06. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 15.94% and a net margin of 3.37%.The company had revenue of $32.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.38 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.89 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Valero Energy Corporation will post 32.68 earnings per share for the current 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 paid a $1.20 dividend. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 31st. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.88%.

Key Valero Energy News

Here are the key news stories impacting Valero Energy this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Goldman Sachs raised its price target on Valero Energy (VLO) from $286 to $357 and kept a Buy rating, signaling meaningful upside versus the current share price.
• Positive Sentiment: Piper Sandler reaffirmed an Overweight rating and lifted its target to $329, also pointing to additional upside for the stock.
• Positive Sentiment: Several recent articles highlighted Valero as a strong momentum stock and a favorable pick versus Cenovus, which may be helping investor sentiment ahead of next week’s earnings report. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts expect earnings growth in Valero’s upcoming report, but one preview noted the setup does not look ideal for a likely earnings beat, suggesting expectations are already fairly balanced. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Broader energy-market headlines, including refinery and crude-flow shifts, may affect VLO’s operating backdrop, but they do not directly change Valero’s outlook on their own.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on VLO. Zacks Research cut Valero Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $329.00 price objective on shares of Valero Energy in a research report on Thursday. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $261.00 to $279.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on Valero Energy from $178.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on Valero Energy from $259.00 to $302.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Valero Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $266.71.

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.