Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) Shares Acquired by Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund grew its stake in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 71.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 117,537 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 48,850 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $18,425,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. MGO One Seven LLC increased its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 198.8% during the 4th quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 16,605 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,159,000 after purchasing an additional 11,047 shares during the last quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board raised its holdings in Valero Energy by 214.4% in the 4th quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 14,475 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,882,000 after acquiring an additional 9,871 shares during the period. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Valero Energy during the second quarter valued at about $15,945,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC grew its position in Valero Energy by 62.2% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 13,586 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,766,000 after purchasing an additional 5,209 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bollard Group LLC grew its position in Valero Energy by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Bollard Group LLC now owns 58,968 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $7,666,000 after buying an additional 440 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Valero Energy Trading Down 1.0 %

VLO stock traded down $1.33 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $134.19. The stock had a trading volume of 3,462,044 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,985,207. The firm has a market cap of $42.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.65, a PEG ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 1.40. Valero Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $119.88 and a twelve month high of $184.79. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $148.79 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $155.47.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The oil and gas company reported $2.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.60 by $0.11. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 21.01% and a net margin of 4.25%. The company had revenue of $34.49 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $32.97 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $5.40 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Valero Energy Co. will post 12.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 1st were issued a dividend of $1.07 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 1st. This represents a $4.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.19%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.20%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Mizuho upgraded Valero Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $165.00 to $175.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $165.00 to $172.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $171.00 to $165.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $187.00 to $169.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, June 14th. Finally, Argus lowered shares of Valero Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $174.50.

Valero Energy Company Profile

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.