Nykredit A S Makes New $33.12 Million Investment in Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Nykredit A S purchased a new stake in shares of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm purchased 127,173 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $33,121,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Woodline Partners LP lifted its position in Valero Energy by 40.7% during the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 26,747 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $3,532,000 after acquiring an additional 7,735 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 13.0% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,929 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $259,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares during the period. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL purchased a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the second quarter worth about $528,000. Sei Investments Co. raised its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 11.3% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 269,043 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $36,165,000 after purchasing an additional 27,291 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina lifted its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 0.9% during the second quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 145,810 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $19,600,000 after purchasing an additional 1,338 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Valero Energy News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Valero Energy this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Piper Sandler raised its price target to $435 from $329 and upgraded Valero to “Overweight,” implying further upside from recent levels. The revision is a significant boost to investor sentiment. Benzinga analyst note
• Positive Sentiment: Erste Group Bank increased its earnings estimates for Valero, suggesting expectations for stronger refining profitability and supporting the stock’s valuation. Erste Group Bank Boosts Earnings Estimates for Valero Energy
• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo indicated that Valero’s stock is expected to rise, adding another favorable sell-side view as the shares approach record levels. Valero Energy Stock Price Expected to Rise
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks added VLO to its Rank #1 (Strong Buy) growth-stock list on September 2 and September 3. The repeated ranking reflects favorable earnings and momentum indicators. Best Growth Stocks to Buy for September 3rd
• Positive Sentiment: Valero outperformed the broader stock market in the latest session, with the rally likely reinforced by analyst upgrades, higher earnings expectations and continued investor interest in refiners. Valero Energy Laps the Stock Market
• Neutral Sentiment: Valero reached a new 12-month high, highlighting strong momentum but also raising the risk that much of the positive outlook is already reflected in the share price. Valero Energy Hits New 12-Month High
• Negative Sentiment: A Seeking Alpha analysis downgraded Valero to “Hold,” arguing that the market may already be pricing in the benefit of closed Russian oil flows and related refining-market support. This represents a valuation and risk warning after the recent advance. Valero Energy: Market Pricing Closed Russian Flows

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on VLO. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $356.00 to $389.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $280.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $329.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $232.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, June 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $350.00 target price on shares of Valero Energy in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Valero Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $296.18.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Eric Fisher sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.17, for a total transaction of $2,011,275.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 19,742 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,294,212.14. This 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 hyperlink. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Valero Energy Stock Up 1.3%

Valero Energy stock opened at $370.84 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $313.01 and its 200 day moving average price is $264.11. 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 has a market cap of $106.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 0.57. Valero Energy Corporation has a 52 week low of $153.20 and a 52 week high of $375.11.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The oil and gas company reported $12.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.11 by $2.43. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 26.74% and a net margin of 5.17%.The company had revenue of $44.48 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $39.47 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.28 earnings per share. Valero Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up 48.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Valero Energy Corporation will post 40.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 31st. Investors of record on Friday, July 31st were paid a $1.20 dividend. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 31st. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is currently 19.92%.

Valero Energy Company Profile

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.