Cherokee Insurance Co Sells 7,000 Shares of Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Cherokee Insurance Co cut its stake in shares of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) by 38.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 11,350 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 7,000 shares during the quarter. Valero Energy accounts for about 1.1% of Cherokee Insurance Co’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Cherokee Insurance Co’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $2,956,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,111,542,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership purchased a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the third quarter worth $275,239,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised 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 buying an additional 915,782 shares during the last quarter. Amundi raised its holdings in Valero Energy by 45.3% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 2,584,976 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $638,695,000 after buying an additional 806,018 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Valero Energy by 49.3% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,696,811 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $276,224,000 after buying an additional 560,116 shares during the period. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Valero Energy

In other Valero Energy news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 7,500 shares of the firm’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 directly owned 19,742 shares in the company, valued at $5,294,212.14. This trade represents a 27.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on VLO. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $329.00 price target on shares of Valero Energy in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $286.00 to $357.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Valero Energy from $292.00 to $356.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price target on Valero Energy from $289.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $288.00.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:VLO opened at $341.36 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $283.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $247.97. The stock has a market cap of $98.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.23 and a beta of 0.55. Valero Energy Corporation has a twelve month low of $135.01 and a twelve month high of $346.09.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The oil and gas company reported $12.54 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $10.11 by $2.43. Valero Energy had a net margin of 5.17% and a return on equity of 26.74%. The business had revenue of $44.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $39.47 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.28 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 48.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Valero Energy Corporation will post 40.62 EPS for the current year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 31st. Investors of record on Friday, July 31st will be paid a $1.20 dividend. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 31st. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 19.92%.

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.