AG2R LA Mondiale Gestion D Actifs Takes $5.36 Million Position in Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

AG2R LA Mondiale Gestion D Actifs bought a new stake in shares of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 41,553 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,359,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Valero Energy by 12.0% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 38,881,222 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $5,135,043,000 after purchasing an additional 4,155,522 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Valero Energy by 6.9% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,437,765 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,510,586,000 after purchasing an additional 736,533 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in Valero Energy by 276.9% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 10,795,436 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,425,754,000 after purchasing an additional 7,931,018 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in Valero Energy by 34.1% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,905,145 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $647,823,000 after purchasing an additional 1,247,196 shares during the period. Finally, Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Valero Energy during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $529,864,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Valero Energy Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of VLO opened at $157.55 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $144.98 and a 200 day moving average of $132.71. Valero Energy Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $99.00 and a fifty-two week high of $163.02. The firm has a market cap of $48.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 65.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.62.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The oil and gas company reported $2.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.62. The firm had revenue of $29.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $27 billion. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 5.76% and a net margin of 0.62%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.71 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Valero Energy Corporation will post 7.92 EPS for the current year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were paid a $1.13 dividend. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 31st. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is 188.33%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on VLO. Bank of America upgraded Valero Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $152.00 to $179.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Valero Energy from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Valero Energy from $151.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on Valero Energy in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. They issued an “in-line” rating and a $135.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Wolfe Research cut Valero Energy from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $158.87.

About Valero Energy

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.