R Squared Ltd Makes New $608,000 Investment in Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLOFree Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 2,334 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $608,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $1,111,542,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership acquired a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at about $275,239,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 2,635.7% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 950,527 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $154,736,000 after purchasing an additional 915,782 shares in the last quarter. Amundi increased its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 45.3% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 2,584,976 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $638,695,000 after purchasing an additional 806,018 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Valero Energy by 49.3% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,696,811 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $276,224,000 after purchasing an additional 560,116 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VLO has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Mizuho increased their price target on Valero Energy from $289.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Weiss Ratings raised Valero Energy from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $329.00 target price on shares of Valero Energy in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $259.00 to $302.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, Wolfe Research reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a $203.00 price target on shares of Valero Energy in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $288.00.

Read Our Latest Analysis on VLO

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 19,742 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,294,212.14. This trade represents a 27.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Valero Energy Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of VLO opened at $341.36 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $283.92 and a 200 day moving average price of $247.97. Valero Energy Corporation has a one year low of $135.01 and a one year high of $346.09. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $98.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.16, a PEG ratio of 0.23 and a beta of 0.55.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLOGet Free Report) 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. The company had revenue of $44.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $39.47 billion. Valero Energy had a net margin of 5.17% and a return on equity of 26.74%. Valero Energy’s revenue was up 48.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.28 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Valero Energy Corporation will post 40.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.92%.

Valero Energy Profile

(Free Report)

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.

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Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO)

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