Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund Sells 1,000 Shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund trimmed its holdings in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 3.4% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 28,124 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 1,000 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $4,409,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Valero Energy during the fourth quarter worth $570,428,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Valero Energy by 37.6% during the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,558,750 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $266,040,000 after purchasing an additional 426,093 shares during the last quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. boosted its position in Valero Energy by 18.7% in the fourth quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. now owns 2,389,654 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $310,655,000 after buying an additional 376,449 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia increased its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 721.4% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 337,911 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $43,927,000 after buying an additional 296,771 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canoe Financial LP acquired a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,580,000. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on VLO. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Valero Energy from $178.00 to $172.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Mizuho upgraded Valero Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the company from $165.00 to $175.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Argus downgraded shares of Valero Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 16th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Valero Energy in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $177.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $165.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $174.50.

Valero Energy Price Performance

VLO opened at $139.63 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $149.61 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $155.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.66 billion, a PE ratio of 6.92, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.42. Valero Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $119.88 and a 52 week high of $184.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.48.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The oil and gas company reported $2.71 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.60 by $0.11. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 21.01% and a net margin of 4.25%. The business had revenue of $34.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $32.97 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $5.40 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Valero Energy Co. will post 12.86 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 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, August 1st were given a $1.07 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 1st. This represents a $4.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.07%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 21.20%.

About Valero Energy

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.