Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Grows Stock Holdings in Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund grew its position in Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO - Free Report) by 38.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 99,823 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after purchasing an additional 27,622 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund's holdings in Valero Energy were worth $13,184,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of VLO. Denali Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 28.1% in the fourth quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 4,100 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $503,000 after purchasing an additional 900 shares during the period. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. boosted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 51,262 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $6,284,000 after acquiring an additional 1,085 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Valero Energy during the fourth quarter worth $28,894,000. QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 11.2% during the fourth quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 85,134 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $10,437,000 after acquiring an additional 8,575 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Generali Investments Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych boosted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 6.9% during the fourth quarter. Generali Investments Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych now owns 1,550 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $190,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Valero Energy Trading Down 1.6%

Shares of VLO stock traded down $2.21 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $134.76. 8,049,061 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,046,881. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.99. Valero Energy Corporation has a 12-month low of $99.00 and a 12-month high of $167.78. The company's 50-day moving average price is $127.81 and its 200-day moving average price is $127.67. The company has a current ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The oil and gas company reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.16 by ($0.27). The business had revenue of $28.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $28.54 billion. Valero Energy had a net margin of 0.72% and a return on equity of 6.30%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.82 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Valero Energy Corporation will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 20th were paid a dividend of $1.13 per share. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.35%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 20th. Valero Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently 159.72%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on VLO shares. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Valero Energy from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $127.00 to $154.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $160.00 to $145.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $158.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $121.00 to $118.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $140.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Valero Energy presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $150.88.

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.