Korea Investment CORP Cuts Stock Holdings in Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Korea Investment CORP trimmed its holdings in Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) by 14.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 232,795 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 38,676 shares during the quarter. Korea Investment CORP’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $60,629,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 3,400.0% during the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 105 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the period. JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Valero Energy during the third quarter valued at $27,000. Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in Valero Energy during the first quarter valued at $28,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Valero Energy by 134.0% in the first quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 117 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Torren Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Valero Energy

In other news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 7,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the senior vice president directly owned 19,742 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,294,212.14. The trade was a 27.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.36% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VLO has been the subject of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $232.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, June 12th. Weiss Ratings raised Valero Energy from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $289.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $329.00 price objective on shares of Valero Energy in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $338.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $288.00.

Valero Energy Price Performance

VLO opened at $349.27 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $292.93 and a 200 day moving average of $253.69. The stock has a market cap of $100.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.49, a PEG ratio of 0.23 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. Valero Energy Corporation has a 52-week low of $140.13 and a 52-week high of $352.70.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The oil and gas company reported $12.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $39.47 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.28 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 48.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Valero Energy Corporation will post 40.62 EPS for the current year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

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

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.