Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) Shares Purchased by State of Michigan Retirement System

State of Michigan Retirement System lifted its stake in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 0.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 106,162 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. State of Michigan Retirement System’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $18,121,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Valero Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Valero Energy in the first quarter worth about $33,000. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Valero Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Valero Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, McIlrath & Eck LLC grew its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 40.3% in the 3rd quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 303 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE VLO opened at $157.96 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $157.19 and its 200-day simple moving average is $150.68. The firm has a market cap of $51.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.59. Valero Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $112.16 and a 52 week high of $184.79.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The oil and gas company reported $3.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.18 by $0.64. Valero Energy had a net margin of 5.01% and a return on equity of 24.82%. The company had revenue of $31.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $32.02 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $8.27 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Valero Energy Co. will post 16.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 30th were paid a dividend of $1.07 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 30th. This represents a $4.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.71%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.20%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Kimberly S. Greene sold 720 shares of Valero Energy stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.12, for a total transaction of $113,846.40. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 13,314 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,105,209.68. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.47% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on VLO. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $187.00 to $169.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, June 14th. TD Cowen decreased their target price on Valero Energy from $190.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Valero Energy from $178.00 to $172.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Valero Energy from $184.00 to $179.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 6th. Finally, Argus cut shares of Valero Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $171.47.

Valero Energy 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.