Applied Finance Capital Management LLC Has $13.18 Million Position in Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO)

Key Points

• Applied Finance Capital Management LLC has reduced its holdings in Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) by 44.0%, selling 78,499 shares and retaining 99,794 shares valued at approximately $13.18 million.
• Valero Energy reported $2.28 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $1.66, although its revenue decreased by 13.3% year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend payment of $1.13 per share, reflecting a 3.18% yield, with a notably high dividend payout ratio of 159.72%.

Applied Finance Capital Management LLC reduced its position in Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO - Free Report) by 44.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 99,794 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 78,499 shares during the quarter. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC's holdings in Valero Energy were worth $13,180,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in Valero Energy by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 7,938,335 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $973,119,000 after buying an additional 429,252 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,871,229 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $844,775,000 after purchasing an additional 100,248 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $669,400,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,759,172 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $583,427,000 after purchasing an additional 71,587 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 15.9% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,850,859 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $472,077,000 after purchasing an additional 529,513 shares during the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Valero Energy Trading Down 2.3%

Shares of NYSE VLO traded down $3.28 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $141.45. The stock had a trading volume of 1,946,469 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,376,541. The firm has a market cap of $44.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 1.00. Valero Energy Corporation has a twelve month low of $99.00 and a twelve month high of $167.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.62. The company's 50 day moving average price is $138.11 and its 200 day moving average price is $131.10.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The oil and gas company reported $2.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.62. Valero Energy had a net margin of 0.62% and a return on equity of 5.76%. The firm had revenue of $29.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $27 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.71 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Valero Energy Corporation will post 7.92 EPS for the current year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, July 31st will be given a dividend of $1.13 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.20%. Valero Energy's payout ratio is presently 188.33%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on VLO shares. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $140.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Valero Energy from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $127.00 to $154.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $159.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $164.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, TD Cowen downgraded shares of Valero Energy from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $118.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $154.47.

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.