Journey Advisory Group LLC Acquires 5,099 Shares of Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Journey Advisory Group LLC grew its holdings in Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) by 23.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 26,775 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 5,099 shares during the period. Journey Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $6,973,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Valero Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,111,542,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership acquired a new stake in Valero Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at $275,239,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Valero Energy by 2,635.7% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 950,527 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $154,736,000 after purchasing an additional 915,782 shares during the last quarter. Amundi boosted its position in Valero Energy by 45.3% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 2,584,976 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $638,695,000 after purchasing an additional 806,018 shares during the period. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Valero Energy by 49.3% during the fourth 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. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE VLO opened at $341.36 on Friday. 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 firm has a market cap of $98.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.16, a P/E/G ratio of 0.23 and a beta of 0.55. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $283.92 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $247.97. Valero Energy Corporation has a one year low of $135.01 and a one year high of $346.09.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The oil and gas company reported $12.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.11 by $2.43. The company had revenue of $44.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $39.47 billion. Valero Energy had a net margin of 5.17% and a return on equity of 26.74%. Valero Energy’s quarterly revenue was up 48.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.28 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Valero Energy Corporation will post 40.62 EPS for the current year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is 19.92%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Valero Energy news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 7,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 29th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $5,294,212.14. The trade was a 27.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.36% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on VLO shares. Wolfe Research reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a $203.00 price objective on shares of Valero Energy in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $286.00 to $357.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $289.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $280.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $259.00 to $302.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $288.00.

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.