Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $60.31 Million Position in Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Principal Financial Group Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 354,212 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 5,240 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $60,308,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Valero Energy in the second quarter worth $827,390,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Valero Energy by 16.7% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,141,511 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,089,897,000 after acquiring an additional 1,164,217 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 162.5% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 523,692 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $70,395,000 after buying an additional 324,174 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Valero Energy by 2.5% during the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,724,707 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,576,035,000 after acquiring an additional 286,942 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in Valero Energy by 17.7% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,706,187 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $286,076,000 after purchasing an additional 256,373 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $169.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 17th. Bank of America reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $195.00 price objective (down previously from $198.00) on shares of Valero Energy in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Zacks Research lowered Valero Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Valero Energy from $216.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Valero Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $183.53.

Valero Energy Trading Up 6.9%

NYSE:VLO opened at $192.71 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $58.78 billion, a PE ratio of 25.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.77. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $175.73 and its 200 day moving average is $164.44. The company has a current ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. Valero Energy Corporation has a 12 month low of $99.00 and a 12 month high of $194.50.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The oil and gas company reported $3.82 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.27 by $0.55. Valero Energy had a net margin of 1.91% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The company had revenue of $30.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $28.20 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.64 EPS. Valero Energy’s revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Valero Energy Corporation will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 9th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 5th will be issued a dividend of $1.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 5th. This is a positive change from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.13. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is presently 59.16%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Jason W. Fraser sold 9,933 shares of the business’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 value of $1,728,540.66. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 134,196 shares in the company, valued at $23,352,787.92. The trade was a 6.89% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

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.