Russell Investments Group Ltd. Has $175.36 Million Holdings in Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lessened its holdings in Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) by 0.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 670,160 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 2,075 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned about 0.23% of Valero Energy worth $175,361,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of VLO. Whipplewood Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 3,400.0% in the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 105 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. JPL Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in Valero Energy during the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Valero Energy by 134.0% during the 1st quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 117 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Torren Management LLC bought a new position in Valero Energy in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 19,742 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 is available at this hyperlink. 0.36% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on VLO shares. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $259.00 to $302.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $350.00 price target on shares of Valero Energy in a report on Monday, August 3rd. UBS Group increased their price target on Valero Energy from $280.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Valero Energy from $232.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, June 12th. Finally, Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $329.00 price objective on shares of Valero Energy in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $288.00.

Valero Energy Stock Down 0.1%

NYSE:VLO opened at $341.36 on Monday. 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 current ratio of 1.64 and a quick ratio of 1.23. The company has a market cap of $98.29 billion, a PE ratio of 14.16, a P/E/G ratio of 0.23 and a beta of 0.55. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $283.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $248.42.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 firm 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%. The company’s revenue was up 48.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.28 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Valero Energy Corporation will post 40.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 31st. Investors of record on Friday, July 31st will be paid a $1.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 31st. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is currently 19.92%.

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.