Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Grows Position in Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Key Points

• Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its stake in Valero Energy by 3.5%, owning 263,881 shares valued at approximately $34.85 million following an additional purchase of 8,803 shares.
• Valero Energy reported $2.28 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding estimates, while revenue amounted to $29.89 billion, though it was down 13.3% year-over-year.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.13 per share, reflecting a dividend yield of 3.1% with a high payout ratio of 188.33%.

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its position in Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO - Free Report) by 3.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 263,881 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after acquiring an additional 8,803 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. owned 0.08% of Valero Energy worth $34,851,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 12.0% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 38,881,222 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $5,135,043,000 after purchasing an additional 4,155,522 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in 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 worth $1,510,586,000 after buying an additional 736,533 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings 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 valued at $1,425,754,000 after acquiring an additional 7,931,018 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 7,938,335 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $973,119,000 after acquiring an additional 429,252 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 34.1% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,905,145 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $647,823,000 after purchasing an additional 1,247,196 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.69% of the company's stock.

Valero Energy Price Performance

VLO traded up $0.97 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $152.13. 1,035,549 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,232,148. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $141.34 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $131.29. Valero Energy Corporation has a 52-week low of $99.00 and a 52-week high of $155.12. The company has a market capitalization of $47.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 63.20, a PEG ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 1.03. 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 for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.62. The firm had revenue of $29.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $27 billion. Valero Energy had a net margin of 0.62% and a return on equity of 5.76%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.71 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Valero Energy Corporation will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be given a $1.13 dividend. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 31st. Valero Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 188.33%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on VLO shares. Wolfe Research lowered shares of Valero Energy from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Valero Energy from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. TD Cowen lowered Valero Energy from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $118.00 to $140.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Citigroup downgraded Valero Energy from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $134.00 to $150.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $164.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average 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.