Valero Energy Corporation $VLO Shares Sold by MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB

MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB cut its stake in shares of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) by 5.6% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 28,821 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 1,719 shares during the period. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $7,506,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Valero Energy by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 18,177,191 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,959,065,000 after buying an additional 163,975 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,950,982 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,945,500,000 after acquiring an additional 63,919 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,111,542,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,668,210 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $922,728,000 after acquiring an additional 394,693 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in Valero Energy by 11.4% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 5,033,310 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,243,630,000 after purchasing an additional 516,975 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Valero Energy Trading Down 1.7%

NYSE VLO opened at $307.53 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $91.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.76, a P/E/G ratio of 0.20 and a beta of 0.55. Valero Energy Corporation has a 12 month low of $130.78 and a 12 month high of $320.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 1.64 and a quick ratio of 1.23. The company has a 50-day moving average of $271.83 and a 200-day moving average of $239.99.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The oil and gas company reported $12.54 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.11 by $2.43. The business had revenue of $44.48 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $39.47 billion. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 26.74% and a net margin of 5.17%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 48.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.28 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Valero Energy Corporation will post 36.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 31st. Investors of record on Friday, July 31st will be issued a $1.20 dividend. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 31st. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.92%.

Trending Headlines about Valero Energy

Here are the key news stories impacting Valero Energy this week:

• Positive Sentiment: TD Cowen raised its price target for Valero Energy from $338 to $350, implying further upside, although it maintained a “hold” rating. Benzinga analyst update
• Positive Sentiment: Another analyst update raised Valero’s price target to $356, adding to the constructive view of the refiner’s earnings and cash-flow outlook. Valero Energy price target raised
• Positive Sentiment: Valero was highlighted among large-cap companies involved in more than $10 billion of combined buybacks. Repurchases can support earnings per share and signal management confidence following strong operating performance. Large-cap buybacks article
• Positive Sentiment: Valero also appeared on screens of highly ranked stocks expected to beat upcoming earnings estimates, reflecting optimism about refining demand and margins. Zacks potential earnings beats
• Neutral Sentiment: Piper Sandler reiterated its “buy” rating, while a separate valuation analysis described Valero’s cash flow as attractive but its earnings multiple as relatively rich. Piper Sandler rating
• Neutral Sentiment: Higher oil prices linked to geopolitical tensions may support refining-sector sentiment, but the broader ETF commentary is not specific to Valero’s operations. July iShares ETF performance

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VLO has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Scotiabank raised their price target on Valero Energy from $178.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 6th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $280.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Zacks Research cut shares of Valero Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $350.00 price target on shares of Valero Energy in a report on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $287.35.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other 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 value of $2,011,275.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 19,742 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,294,212.14. This trade represents a 27.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.36% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.