Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC Boosts Stock Position in Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Key Points

• Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC increased its stake in Valero Energy Corporation by 33.8% after acquiring an additional 2,668 shares, now holding a total of 10,552 shares valued at approximately $1.39 million.
• Valero Energy reported a quarterly earnings per share of $2.28, surpassing analysts' expectations, with revenue of $29.89 billion, despite a 13.3% decline compared to the previous year.
• Analysts have set an average price target of $154.47 for Valero Energy, with two "Strong Buy" ratings and a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" based on recent reports.

Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC grew its stake in shares of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO - Free Report) by 33.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 10,552 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after buying an additional 2,668 shares during the period. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC's holdings in Valero Energy were worth $1,394,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Valero Energy by 12.0% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 38,881,222 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $5,135,043,000 after buying an additional 4,155,522 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Valero Energy by 6.9% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,437,765 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $1,510,586,000 after buying an additional 736,533 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in shares of Valero Energy by 276.9% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 10,795,436 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $1,425,754,000 after buying an additional 7,931,018 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in Valero Energy by 34.1% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,905,145 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $647,823,000 after purchasing an additional 1,247,196 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Valero Energy in the first quarter worth $529,864,000. Institutional investors own 78.69% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on VLO shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $159.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Wolfe Research cut shares of Valero Energy from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $164.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $158.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $156.40.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

Shares of VLO stock traded up $1.26 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $156.65. The stock had a trading volume of 2,599,302 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,107,999. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 1.62 and a quick ratio of 1.11. Valero Energy Corporation has a twelve month low of $99.00 and a twelve month high of $159.26. The stock's 50 day moving average is $143.44 and its 200 day moving average is $132.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.66 billion, a PE ratio of 65.27, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.10.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The oil and gas company reported $2.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.62. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 5.76% and a net margin of 0.62%.The business had revenue of $29.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $27 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.71 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Valero Energy Corporation will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were given a dividend of $1.13 per share. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 31st. Valero Energy's payout ratio is presently 188.33%.

About Valero Energy

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.