Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) Shares Sold by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans

Posted by Defense World Staff on Sep 13th, 2023

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans decreased its holdings in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO – Free Report) by 0.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 917,581 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 1,469 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned approximately 0.25% of Valero Energy worth $128,085,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in VLO. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in Valero Energy by 96.2% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 9,389,258 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,310,740,000 after purchasing an additional 4,604,158 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Valero Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $534,892,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Valero Energy by 457.7% in the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,359,392 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $35,667,000 after purchasing an additional 1,115,640 shares during the period. HRT Financial LP lifted its position in Valero Energy by 33,083.3% in the first quarter. HRT Financial LP now owns 1,028,681 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $143,603,000 after purchasing an additional 1,025,581 shares during the period. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in Valero Energy by 121.0% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,739,618 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $242,853,000 after purchasing an additional 952,518 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.07% of the company’s stock.

Valero Energy Stock Up 1.8 %

VLO stock opened at $146.26 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.04, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.59. Valero Energy Co. has a one year low of $97.73 and a one year high of $150.39. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $127.79 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $123.40.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO – Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 27th. The oil and gas company reported $5.40 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.08 by $0.32. The firm had revenue of $34.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.37 billion. Valero Energy had a net margin of 6.96% and a return on equity of 42.31%. Valero Energy’s revenue for the quarter was down 33.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $11.36 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Valero Energy Co. will post 24.16 EPS for the current year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 3rd were paid a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 2nd. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.79%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 14.05%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $152.00 to $162.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 16th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $139.00 to $142.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 7th. Bank of America downgraded shares of Valero Energy from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $160.00 to $152.00 in a research report on Tuesday, August 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $172.00 to $171.00 in a research report on Friday, July 7th. Finally, Tudor Pickering upgraded shares of Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $145.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, July 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $152.69.

Read Our Latest Research Report on Valero Energy

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Joseph W. Gorder sold 75,580 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.99, for a total transaction of $10,278,124.20. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 621,872 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $84,568,373.28. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Valero Energy Company Profile

(Free Report)

Valero Energy Corporation manufactures, markets, and sells transportation fuels and petrochemical products in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Latin America, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Refining, Renewable Diesel, and Ethanol. The company produces California Reformulated Gasoline Blendstock for Oxygenate Blending and Conventional Blendstock for Oxygenate Blending gasolines, CARB diesel, diesel, jet fuel, and asphalt; aromatics; and sulfur crude oils.