Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS Grows Stock Holdings in Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS raised its stake in Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) by 6.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 76,816 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 4,417 shares during the period. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $10,326,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Hoey Investments Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Valero Energy during the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. GFG Capital LLC purchased a new position in Valero Energy in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 156.6% during the 1st quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 213 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 1,277.8% in the second quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 248 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 230 shares during the period. Finally, Ransom Advisory Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Valero Energy in the first quarter valued at about $43,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on VLO shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Valero Energy from $177.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Valero Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $152.00 to $179.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $216.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 10th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $151.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut shares of Valero Energy from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $160.00 to $175.00 in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Valero Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $181.00.

Valero Energy Price Performance

Shares of VLO opened at $181.63 on Monday. Valero Energy Corporation has a 52 week low of $99.00 and a 52 week high of $183.93. The company has a current ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The firm has a market cap of $55.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.92, a PEG ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.01. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $166.75 and a 200-day moving average of $147.82.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 23rd. The oil and gas company reported $3.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.15 by $0.51. Valero Energy had a net margin of 1.21% and a return on equity of 8.69%. The firm had revenue of $32.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $28.80 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.14 earnings per share. Valero Energy’s quarterly revenue was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Valero Energy Corporation will post 7.92 EPS for the current year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 18th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 20th will be paid a dividend of $1.13 per share. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 20th. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 94.36%.

Valero Energy Company 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.