AMF Tjanstepension AB Purchases 48,977 Shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

AMF Tjanstepension AB raised its position in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 42.9% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 163,101 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 48,977 shares during the quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $19,149,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in VLO. Walkner Condon Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the first quarter worth approximately $216,000. Spire Wealth Management raised its position in shares of Valero Energy by 64.7% during the first quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 2,785 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $389,000 after buying an additional 1,094 shares during the last quarter. PFG Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the first quarter valued at approximately $318,000. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in shares of Valero Energy by 5.4% during the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 469,536 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $64,186,000 after buying an additional 23,915 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its position in Valero Energy by 126.4% in the fourth quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 11,756 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,491,000 after purchasing an additional 6,564 shares during the last quarter. 77.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Valero Energy Stock Up 0.3 %

NYSE:VLO traded up $0.42 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $145.90. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 326,827 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,085,331. Valero Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $97.73 and a 1 year high of $150.39. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $128.37 and a 200-day moving average of $123.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.52 billion, a PE ratio of 5.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.66. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 27th. The oil and gas company reported $5.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.08 by $0.32. The company had revenue of $34.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.37 billion. Valero Energy had a net margin of 6.96% and a return on equity of 42.31%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 33.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $11.36 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Valero Energy Co. will post 24.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 3rd were given a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.80%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 2nd. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is 14.05%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Joseph W. Gorder sold 75,580 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.99, for a total transaction of $10,278,124.20. Following the transaction, the director now owns 621,872 shares in the company, valued at $84,568,373.28. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on VLO. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $160.00 price objective on shares of Valero Energy in a research report on Wednesday, July 19th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $150.00 to $159.00 in a research report on Friday, August 4th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $135.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 8th. Bank of America cut shares of Valero Energy from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $160.00 to $152.00 in a research report on Tuesday, August 15th. Finally, StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Valero Energy in a research note on Thursday, August 17th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Valero Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $152.69.

Valero Energy Company Profile

Valero Energy Corporation manufactures, markets, and sells transportation fuels and petrochemical products in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Latin America, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Refining, Renewable Diesel, and Ethanol. The company produces California Reformulated Gasoline Blendstock for Oxygenate Blending and Conventional Blendstock for Oxygenate Blending gasolines, CARB diesel, diesel, jet fuel, and asphalt; aromatics; and sulfur crude oils.