Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ Purchases New Stake in Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Key Points

• Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ opened a new position in Valero Energy during the first quarter, buying 6,039 shares worth about $1.49 million.
• Valero continues to attract major institutional interest, with hedge funds and asset managers holding a large majority of the stock; institutional investors own 78.69% of shares.
• The company reported solid quarterly results, with EPS of $4.22 and revenue of $32.38 billion, both above analyst estimates, while also paying a quarterly dividend of $1.20 per share.

Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ acquired a new position in shares of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 6,039 shares of the oil and gas company's stock, valued at approximately $1,492,000.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Valero Energy during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,111,542,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership purchased a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $275,239,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 2,635.7% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 950,527 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $154,736,000 after purchasing an additional 915,782 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 49.3% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,696,811 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $276,224,000 after purchasing an additional 560,116 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in Valero Energy by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,668,210 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $922,728,000 after purchasing an additional 394,693 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.69% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Valero Energy

In related news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.17, for a total transaction of $2,011,275.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 19,742 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,294,212.14. This represents a 27.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.36% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on VLO shares. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Valero Energy from $236.00 to $263.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Valero Energy from $232.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Citigroup increased their price target on Valero Energy from $246.00 to $259.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $280.00 price objective on shares of Valero Energy in a report on Thursday, June 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Valero Energy from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, April 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $247.59.

Valero Energy Stock Up 0.1%

Valero Energy stock opened at $267.99 on Friday. Valero Energy Corporation has a 1-year low of $130.78 and a 1-year high of $274.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $79.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.48, a P/E/G ratio of 0.37 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $249.73 and a 200 day simple moving average of $220.63.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The oil and gas company reported $4.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.16 by $1.06. The firm had revenue of $32.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.38 billion. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 15.94% and a net margin of 3.37%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.89 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Valero Energy Corporation will post 28.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, May 21st were paid a dividend of $1.20 per share. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 21st. Valero Energy's payout ratio is presently 34.88%.

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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