Strs Ohio Takes $15.99 Million Position in Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Key Points

• Strs Ohio has acquired a new stake in Valero Energy Corporation, purchasing 121,104 shares valued at approximately $15.99 million during the 1st quarter of the year.
• Valero Energy received upgrades from several brokerages, with Bank of America increasing its price target from $152.00 to $179.00 and maintaining a "buy" rating.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.13 per share, which represents an annualized amount of $4.52 and a dividend yield of 2.9%, despite a high payout ratio of 188.33%.

Strs Ohio bought a new stake in shares of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 121,104 shares of the oil and gas company's stock, valued at approximately $15,994,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Jacobi Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Valero Energy by 4.1% during the 1st quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 15,876 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $2,097,000 after purchasing an additional 624 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Valero Energy by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 103,364 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $13,644,000 after purchasing an additional 2,609 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in Valero Energy by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 21,346 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $2,819,000 after purchasing an additional 519 shares during the last quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd grew its holdings in Valero Energy by 14.8% during the 1st quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 54,279 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $7,169,000 after purchasing an additional 6,998 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Valero Energy by 13.1% during the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 58,277 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $7,697,000 after purchasing an additional 6,737 shares during the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on VLO. Bank of America upgraded shares of Valero Energy from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the company from $152.00 to $179.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. TD Cowen downgraded shares of Valero Energy from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and upped their price target for the company from $118.00 to $140.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Evercore ISI started coverage on shares of Valero Energy in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. They issued an "in-line" rating and a $135.00 price objective for the company. Wolfe Research cut shares of Valero Energy from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $164.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Valero Energy presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $158.87.

Valero Energy Price Performance

Shares of VLO opened at $156.78 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $145.24 and a 200-day moving average price of $132.87. Valero Energy Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $99.00 and a fifty-two week high of $163.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.70 billion, a PE ratio of 65.33, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.62.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO - Get Free Report) last announced 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. 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $27 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.71 EPS. The company's revenue was down 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Valero Energy Corporation will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

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

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