Jones Financial Companies Lllp Boosts Stock Holdings in Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Key Points

• Jones Financial Companies increased its Valero Energy stake by 8.6% in the second quarter, acquiring 18,627 additional shares and bringing its holdings to 235,150 shares valued at approximately $61 million. Institutional investors collectively own 78.69% of VLO.
• Valero reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $12.54 versus the $10.11 consensus estimate and revenue of $44.48 billion, up 48.8% year over year. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $1.20 per share, equivalent to a 1.4% yield.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive, with Valero holding a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating; price targets were raised by several firms, although the average target of $288 is below the stock’s reported $346.15 price.

Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its position in Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO - Free Report) by 8.6% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 235,150 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after purchasing an additional 18,627 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp owned about 0.08% of Valero Energy worth $60,994,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VLO. Woodline Partners LP lifted its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 40.7% in the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 26,747 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $3,532,000 after buying an additional 7,735 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in Valero Energy by 13.0% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,929 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $259,000 after acquiring an additional 222 shares during the period. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL acquired a new position in Valero Energy during the second quarter worth $528,000. Sei Investments Co. raised its position in Valero Energy by 11.3% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 269,043 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $36,165,000 after acquiring an additional 27,291 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina raised its position in Valero Energy by 0.9% in the second quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 145,810 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $19,600,000 after acquiring an additional 1,338 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.69% of the company's stock.

Valero Energy Stock Down 0.8%

Valero Energy stock opened at $346.15 on Tuesday. Valero Energy Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $144.30 and a fifty-two week high of $353.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $99.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.23 and a beta of 0.55. The stock's fifty day moving average is $294.91 and its two-hundred day moving average is $255.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 1.64.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The oil and gas company reported $12.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $10.11 by $2.43. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 26.74% and a net margin of 5.17%.The business had revenue of $44.48 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $39.47 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.28 EPS. The business's revenue was up 48.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Valero Energy Corporation will post 40.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 31st will be issued a dividend of $1.20 per share. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 31st. Valero Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.92%.

Insider Transactions at Valero Energy

In other Valero Energy news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 7,500 shares of Valero Energy stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.17, for a total transaction of $2,011,275.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 19,742 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,294,212.14. The trade was a 27.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.36% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on VLO shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $292.00 to $356.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $338.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $286.00 to $357.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $289.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Raymond James Financial increased their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Valero Energy currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $288.00.

About Valero Energy

Valero Energy Corporation is a San Antonio, Texas–based integrated downstream energy company that manufactures and markets transportation fuels, petrochemical feedstocks and other industrial products. The company's operations focus on refining crude oil into finished fuels such as gasoline, diesel and jet fuel, as well as producing asphalt and other refined product streams for commercial and industrial customers.

In addition to refining, Valero has significant operations in renewable fuels, including the production of ethanol and other biofuels, and it manages an extensive logistics network of pipelines, terminals, rail and marine assets to move feedstocks and finished products.

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