Stock buyback announcements continued to stay muted last week with only 6 companies announcing buybacks. We still have a few days left for earnings season and can expect to see an increase in buyback activity in the coming weeks.
Three of the six companies that announced buybacks last week belong to the energy sector. The most significant one was Valero Energy (VLO). On Thursday, July 7, 2022, the Board of Directors of Valero Energy approved a new share purchase authorization of up to $2.5 billion of its common stock, which replaces its previous purchase authorization announced on January 23, 2018. Valero has purchased approximately 45.4 million shares of its common stock since 2018 and retired 5.56% of their shares outstanding after adjusting for dilution. While this might not seem much, the company bought back shares at a very difficult time for the energy sector.