VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al Purchases Shares of 88,671 Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Key Points

• Virginia Retirement Systems recently acquired a stake in Valero Energy Corporation by purchasing 88,671 shares worth approximately $11.9 million during the second quarter.
• Valero Energy reported a second-quarter earnings per share of $2.28, significantly exceeding analysts' expectations of $1.66, alongside a revenue of $29.89 billion, which was above the anticipated $27 billion.
• Recent price target upgrades from analysts have raised confidence in Valero Energy's stock, with UBS Group setting a new target of $183.00 and several others redefining their ratings as "buy" or "strong-buy."

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al purchased a new stake in shares of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 88,671 shares of the oil and gas company's stock, valued at approximately $11,919,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of VLO. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 276.9% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 10,795,436 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $1,425,754,000 after buying an additional 7,931,018 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 12.0% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 38,881,222 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $5,135,043,000 after buying an additional 4,155,522 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the first quarter worth $529,864,000. 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, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 736,533 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.69% of the company's stock.

Valero Energy Trading Up 0.8%

VLO stock opened at $157.62 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. Valero Energy Corporation has a twelve month low of $99.00 and a twelve month high of $178.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 65.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.05. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $155.99 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $139.05.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The oil and gas company reported $2.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.62. Valero Energy had a net margin of 0.62% and a return on equity of 5.76%. The business had revenue of $29.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $27 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.71 earnings per share. The business's revenue was down 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Valero Energy Corporation will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VLO has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $165.00 to $183.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, September 22nd. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating and set a $181.00 price target (up previously from $177.00) on shares of Valero Energy in a research note on Friday. Bank of America raised shares of Valero Energy from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the company from $152.00 to $179.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $171.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 11th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $151.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $173.27.

Valero Energy Company Profile

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.

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