Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky Sells 2,310 Shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky lowered its holdings in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 7.4% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 29,117 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 2,310 shares during the quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $4,970,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of VLO. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Valero Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $570,428,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Valero Energy by 12,883.3% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,047,360 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $136,157,000 after acquiring an additional 1,039,293 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased 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 worth $266,040,000 after acquiring an additional 426,093 shares during the period. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. increased its holdings in Valero Energy by 18.7% during the 4th quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. now owns 2,389,654 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $310,655,000 after acquiring an additional 376,449 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia increased its holdings in Valero Energy by 721.4% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 337,911 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $43,927,000 after acquiring an additional 296,771 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Valero Energy

In other Valero Energy news, Director Kimberly S. Greene sold 720 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.12, for a total transaction of $113,846.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 13,314 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,105,209.68. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Valero Energy Trading Down 5.0 %

Shares of VLO stock traded down $7.89 on Friday, hitting $148.56. 3,457,861 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,709,691. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.48. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $153.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $154.00. Valero Energy Co. has a one year low of $119.88 and a one year high of $184.79.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The oil and gas company reported $2.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.60 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $34.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $32.97 billion. Valero Energy had a net margin of 4.25% and a return on equity of 21.01%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $5.40 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Valero Energy Co. will post 13.06 EPS for the current year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 1st will be given a dividend of $1.07 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 1st. This represents a $4.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.88%. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is currently 21.20%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $160.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Valero Energy in a report on Thursday, July 18th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $177.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Valero Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $156.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Mizuho raised shares of Valero Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $165.00 to $175.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $174.00.

Valero Energy 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.