Conning Inc. Sells 3,230 Shares of Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Key Points

• Conning Inc. sold 3,230 shares of Valero Energy Corporation, reducing its stake by 1.2% to a total of 265,334 shares, which now accounts for 1.2% of its portfolio.
• Valero Energy's stock is currently down 2.4%, opening at $158.19, with recent quarterly earnings showing EPS of $2.28 and revenue of $29.89 billion, beating analyst estimates.
• VLO's recent dividend payout of $1.13, with a high dividend payout ratio of 188.33%, indicates a sustainability concern despite a 2.9% dividend yield for shareholders.

Conning Inc. trimmed its stake in Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO - Free Report) by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 265,334 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 3,230 shares during the period. Valero Energy accounts for 1.2% of Conning Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Conning Inc. owned 0.08% of Valero Energy worth $35,666,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in VLO. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in shares of Valero Energy by 276.9% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 10,795,436 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $1,425,754,000 after acquiring an additional 7,931,018 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Valero Energy by 12.0% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 38,881,222 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $5,135,043,000 after acquiring an additional 4,155,522 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the 1st quarter worth $529,864,000. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of Valero Energy by 34.1% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,905,145 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $647,823,000 after acquiring an additional 1,247,196 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Valero Energy by 6.9% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,437,765 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $1,510,586,000 after acquiring an additional 736,533 shares in the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Valero Energy Stock Down 2.4%

Shares of VLO stock opened at $158.19 on Friday. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $153.45 and its 200-day simple moving average is $137.92. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $49.14 billion, a PE ratio of 65.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.05. Valero Energy Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $99.00 and a fifty-two week high of $178.43.

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

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were issued a $1.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Valero Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently 188.33%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VLO has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group upped their target price on Valero Energy from $165.00 to $183.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, September 22nd. Raymond James Financial upped their target price on Valero Energy from $170.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 9th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Valero Energy from $151.00 to $168.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. TD Cowen lowered Valero Energy from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and upped their target price for the company from $118.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Wolfe Research lowered Valero Energy from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $169.80.

Valero Energy Company 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.

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