1,322 Shares in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) Acquired by Allstate Corp

Allstate Corp bought a new stake in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 1,322 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $226,000.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in 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. TIAA Trust National Association boosted its stake in Valero Energy by 7.7% during the 1st quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 6,316 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,078,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. Spirepoint Private Client LLC purchased a new stake in Valero Energy during the 1st quarter valued at $405,000. First Foundation Advisors purchased a new stake in Valero Energy during the 1st quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Banco Santander S.A. boosted its stake in Valero Energy by 10.7% during the 1st quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 60,192 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $10,274,000 after purchasing an additional 5,833 shares during the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on the company. Scotiabank increased their target price on Valero Energy from $165.00 to $173.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 12th. UBS Group increased their price target on Valero Energy from $167.00 to $197.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Citigroup increased their price target on Valero Energy from $160.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Valero Energy from $179.00 to $156.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 12th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on Valero Energy from $171.00 to $165.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $171.47.

Valero Energy Price Performance

VLO stock traded up $0.69 during trading on Monday, reaching $149.02. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,435,284 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,074,944. Valero Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $119.88 and a 1 year high of $184.79. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The company has a market capitalization of $48.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.42. The company’s fifty day moving average is $154.27 and its 200-day moving average is $152.53.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last issued its quarterly 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. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 24.82% and a net margin of 5.01%. The business had revenue of $31.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $32.02 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $8.27 EPS. Valero Energy’s revenue for the quarter was down 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Valero Energy Co. will post 13.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 1st will be paid a $1.07 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 1st. This represents a $4.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.87%. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is presently 21.20%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Kimberly S. Greene sold 720 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 9th. The stock was 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 available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

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.