Valero Energy Corporation $VLO Shares Purchased by Westpac Banking Corp

Westpac Banking Corp boosted its stake in Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) by 168.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,456 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,542 shares during the period. Westpac Banking Corp’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $640,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. EP Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Valero Energy by 2.3% during the second quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 229,679 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $59,818,000 after purchasing an additional 5,108 shares in the last quarter. Ieq Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 22.8% in the 2nd quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 97,901 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $25,498,000 after purchasing an additional 18,195 shares during the period. Callan Family Office LLC grew its stake in Valero Energy by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. Callan Family Office LLC now owns 4,778 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,244,000 after buying an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. Keebeck Wealth Management increased its position in Valero Energy by 12.0% during the second quarter. Keebeck Wealth Management now owns 2,307 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $601,000 after buying an additional 247 shares during the period. Finally, Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC increased its position in Valero Energy by 3.0% during the second quarter. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC now owns 29,052 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $7,566,000 after buying an additional 853 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Valero Energy from $280.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $329.00 target price on shares of Valero Energy in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group set a $350.00 target price on shares of Valero Energy in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $292.00 to $356.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $338.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Valero Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $288.00.

Valero Energy Stock Up 2.3%

VLO opened at $349.27 on Friday. Valero Energy Corporation has a 52 week low of $140.13 and a 52 week high of $352.70. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $292.93 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $253.69. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The company has a market cap of $100.57 billion, a PE ratio of 14.49, a P/E/G ratio of 0.23 and a beta of 0.55.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The oil and gas company reported $12.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $10.11 by $2.43. The company had revenue of $44.48 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $39.47 billion. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 26.74% and a net margin of 5.17%.The company’s revenue was up 48.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.28 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Valero Energy Corporation will post 40.62 EPS for the current year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 31st. Investors of record on Friday, July 31st will be issued a dividend of $1.20 per share. 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.92%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Valero Energy news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 7,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.17, for a total value of $2,011,275.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 19,742 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,294,212.14. The trade was a 27.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Valero Energy

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.