Valero Energy Corporation $VLO Shares Bought by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Key Points

• Principal Financial Group increased its Valero Energy stake by 2.2% in the second quarter, acquiring 7,881 additional shares and bringing its holdings to 363,212 shares valued at approximately $94.6 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 78.69% of VLO.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive, with Valero receiving a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $288, despite shares trading near their 12-month high at $341.36.
• Valero reported quarterly EPS of $12.54, surpassing estimates by $2.43, while revenue rose 48.8% year over year to $44.48 billion. The company also declared a $1.20 quarterly dividend, or $4.80 annually, yielding about 1.4%.

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO - Free Report) by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 363,212 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after buying an additional 7,881 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.12% of Valero Energy worth $94,595,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in VLO. Woodline Partners LP lifted its stake in Valero Energy by 40.7% in the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 26,747 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $3,532,000 after acquiring an additional 7,735 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Valero Energy by 13.0% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,929 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $259,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares during the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL acquired a new stake in shares of Valero Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at $528,000. Sei Investments Co. raised its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 11.3% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 269,043 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $36,165,000 after purchasing an additional 27,291 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina lifted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 0.9% during the 2nd 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 purchasing an additional 1,338 shares during the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on VLO. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $232.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $329.00 price target on shares of Valero Energy in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Valero Energy from $286.00 to $357.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Scotiabank increased their price objective on Valero Energy from $178.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on Valero Energy from $280.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $288.00.

Valero Energy Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of Valero Energy stock opened at $341.36 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $283.92 and a 200-day simple moving average of $247.97. The stock has a market cap of $98.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.16, a PEG ratio of 0.23 and a beta of 0.55. Valero Energy Corporation has a 12-month low of $135.01 and a 12-month high of $346.09.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The oil and gas company reported $12.54 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $10.11 by $2.43. Valero Energy had a net margin of 5.17% and a return on equity of 26.74%. The firm had revenue of $44.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $39.47 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.28 EPS. Valero Energy's revenue for the quarter was up 48.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Valero Energy Corporation will post 40.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 31st. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Valero Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.92%.

Insider Activity at Valero Energy

In other news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 7,500 shares of Valero Energy 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 in the company, valued at approximately $5,294,212.14. The trade was a 27.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.36% of the company's stock.

Valero Energy Profile

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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