Bokf Na Raises Stock Holdings in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Bokf Na raised its holdings in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 402.7% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 17,303 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 13,861 shares during the period. Bokf Na’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $2,987,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Valero Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $570,428,000. Putnam Investments LLC grew its holdings in Valero Energy by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Putnam Investments LLC now owns 3,445,821 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $447,957,000 after purchasing an additional 122,207 shares during the last quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. increased its position in shares of Valero Energy by 18.7% during the fourth quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. now owns 2,389,654 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $310,655,000 after purchasing an additional 376,449 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 37.6% during the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,558,750 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $266,040,000 after purchasing an additional 426,093 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,541,534 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $263,124,000 after purchasing an additional 35,043 shares in the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Valero Energy Stock Down 1.0 %

NYSE:VLO traded down $1.52 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $157.60. The company had a trading volume of 300,172 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,059,824. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $153.61 and its 200-day simple moving average is $153.38. The company has a current ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.88, a PEG ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 1.42. Valero Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $119.88 and a 12-month high of $184.79.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The oil and gas company reported $2.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.60 by $0.11. Valero Energy had a net margin of 4.25% and a return on equity of 21.01%. The firm had revenue of $34.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $32.97 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $5.40 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Valero Energy Co. will post 13.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 1st will be given a dividend of $1.07 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 1st. This represents a $4.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.72%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.20%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on VLO shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $178.00 to $172.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Mizuho raised shares of Valero Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $165.00 to $175.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Valero Energy from $156.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Valero Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their target price on Valero Energy from $190.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Valero Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $172.07.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Kimberly S. Greene sold 720 shares of Valero Energy stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.12, for a total value of $113,846.40. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 13,314 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,105,209.68. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

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.