Johnson Financial Group Inc. Grows Position in Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Johnson Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) by 1,791.5% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 9,760 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,244 shares during the quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $2,542,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. V Square Quantitative Management LLC raised its holdings in Valero Energy by 0.6% in the first quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 6,670 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,648,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the period. M.E. Allison & CO. Inc. grew its stake in Valero Energy by 5.8% during the second quarter. M.E. Allison & CO. Inc. now owns 916 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $239,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Ridgecrest Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Valero Energy by 5.0% in the second quarter. Ridgecrest Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,054 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $275,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC raised its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC now owns 975 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $159,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the period. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 32.9% in the 4th quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 206 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Valero Energy Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of NYSE VLO opened at $345.99 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 1.64. Valero Energy Corporation has a 1 year low of $137.88 and a 1 year high of $351.00. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $289.39 and its 200-day simple moving average is $251.90. The firm has a market cap of $99.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.36, a PEG ratio of 0.23 and a beta of 0.55.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The oil and gas company reported $12.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.11 by $2.43. The business had revenue of $44.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $39.47 billion. Valero Energy had a net margin of 5.17% and a return on equity of 26.74%. The business’s revenue was up 48.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.28 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Valero Energy Corporation will post 40.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on VLO. TD Cowen upped their price target 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. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Valero Energy from $280.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Raymond James Financial raised their target price on Valero Energy from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Barclays upped their price target on Valero Energy from $279.00 to $323.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $289.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. 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 given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Valero Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $288.00.

Insider Transactions at Valero Energy

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 transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 19,742 shares in the company, valued at $5,294,212.14. This trade represents a 27.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.36% of the stock is 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.