Russell Investments Group Ltd. Buys 33,172 Shares of Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its stake in Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) by 6.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 551,992 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 33,172 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned 0.18% of Valero Energy worth $94,065,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 17.4% during the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 160,794 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $27,377,000 after acquiring an additional 23,859 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 15.7% in the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 161,957 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $21,770,000 after purchasing an additional 21,997 shares during the period. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the third quarter valued at approximately $4,534,000. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 9.0% during the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 104,859 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $17,853,000 after purchasing an additional 8,638 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tema Etfs LLC purchased a new stake in Valero Energy in the third quarter worth $1,669,000. Institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Valero Energy Stock Down 3.9%

Shares of NYSE:VLO opened at $215.96 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $192.66 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $175.73. Valero Energy Corporation has a 12-month low of $99.00 and a 12-month high of $232.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $64.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.27, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.70.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The oil and gas company reported $3.82 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.27 by $0.55. The firm had revenue of $30.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $28.20 billion. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 12.35% and a net margin of 1.91%.The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.64 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Valero Energy Corporation will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 5th were given a dividend of $1.20 per share. This is a positive change from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.13. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 5th. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is currently 62.83%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on VLO. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Valero Energy from $197.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Erste Group Bank began coverage on shares of Valero Energy in a research report on Monday, November 10th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $190.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Valero Energy in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $169.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $187.67.

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.