Baird Financial Group Inc. Has $20.59 Million Stock Position in Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Key Points

• Baird Financial Group Inc. reduced its holdings in Valero Energy Corporation by 60.2%, now owning 155,931 shares worth approximately $20.6 million, after selling 235,367 shares in the first quarter.
• Valero Energy's latest quarterly earnings report revealed an EPS of $2.28, exceeding estimates, although the revenue of $29.89 billion was down 13.3% year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.13 to be paid on September 2nd, reflecting a 3.0% dividend yield and a payout ratio of 188.33%.

Baird Financial Group Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO - Free Report) by 60.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 155,931 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 235,367 shares during the quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $20,594,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 12.0% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 38,881,222 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $5,135,043,000 after buying an additional 4,155,522 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 6.9% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,437,765 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $1,510,586,000 after buying an additional 736,533 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 276.9% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 10,795,436 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $1,425,754,000 after buying an additional 7,931,018 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 34.1% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,905,145 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $647,823,000 after buying an additional 1,247,196 shares during the period. Finally, Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the 1st quarter valued at about $529,864,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.69% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on VLO shares. Evercore ISI started coverage on Valero Energy in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. They set an "in-line" rating and a $135.00 price objective on the stock. Bank of America upgraded Valero Energy from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $152.00 to $179.00 in a report on Wednesday. Raymond James Financial lifted their price objective on Valero Energy from $155.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Valero Energy from $159.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Valero Energy from $151.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $156.40.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

VLO traded up $0.02 during trading on Thursday, reaching $155.40. 2,611,292 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,080,420. Valero Energy Corporation has a 52 week low of $99.00 and a 52 week high of $159.26. The stock has a market cap of $48.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 64.75, a PEG ratio of 3.63 and a beta of 1.10. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $142.63 and a 200 day moving average of $131.84. The company has a current ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The oil and gas company reported $2.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.62. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 5.76% and a net margin of 0.62%.The company had revenue of $29.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $27 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.71 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Valero Energy Corporation will post 7.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, July 31st were paid a dividend of $1.13 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. Valero Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 188.33%.

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.