Texas Permanent School Fund Corp Increases Stake in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Texas Permanent School Fund Corp increased its holdings in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 0.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 70,403 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 82 shares during the period. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $12,017,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Collective Family Office LLC increased its stake in Valero Energy by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Collective Family Office LLC now owns 4,040 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $690,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in Valero Energy by 4.7% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,327 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $227,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Covenant Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Valero Energy by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Covenant Asset Management LLC now owns 14,659 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,502,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Valero Energy by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,797 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $990,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rovin Capital UT ADV grew its holdings in Valero Energy by 3.5% during the 1st quarter. Rovin Capital UT ADV now owns 1,968 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $336,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on VLO. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $184.00 to $179.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 6th. Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $138.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $160.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Bank of America raised shares of Valero Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $156.00 to $210.00 in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $171.00 to $165.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $171.07.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Valero Energy news, Director Kimberly S. Greene sold 720 shares of Valero Energy stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.12, for a total transaction of $113,846.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 13,314 shares in the company, valued at $2,105,209.68. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Valero Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE VLO traded up $0.01 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $146.65. The company had a trading volume of 43,606 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,080,404. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. Valero Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $112.67 and a twelve month high of $184.79. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $155.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $151.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.42.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The oil and gas company reported $3.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.18 by $0.64. The company had revenue of $31.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $32.02 billion. Valero Energy had a net margin of 5.01% and a return on equity of 24.82%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $8.27 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Valero Energy Co. will post 15.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 30th were given a dividend of $1.07 per share. This represents a $4.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.92%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 30th. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is currently 21.20%.

Valero Energy 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.