Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Raises Stock Holdings in Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Key Points

• Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd increased its holdings in Valero Energy Corporation by 9.5% in the second quarter, bringing its total ownership to 44,378 shares valued at approximately $5.97 million.
• Valero Energy recently reported earnings per share (EPS) of $2.28 for the last quarter, exceeding expectations of $1.66, although revenue was down 13.3% year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.13, reflecting an annualized yield of 2.8%, although the dividend payout ratio stands at a high 188.33%.

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd boosted its holdings in Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO - Free Report) by 9.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 44,378 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after acquiring an additional 3,845 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd's holdings in Valero Energy were worth $5,965,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC increased its stake in Valero Energy by 18.5% in the 1st quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 22,402 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $2,959,000 after acquiring an additional 3,503 shares during the last quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp raised its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 8.9% during the 1st quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 46,474 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $6,138,000 after buying an additional 3,790 shares in the last quarter. United Super Pty Ltd in its capacity as Trustee for the Construction & Building Unions Superannuation Fund purchased a new position in shares of Valero Energy during the 1st quarter valued at about $766,000. Sendero Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 11.0% during the 1st quarter. Sendero Wealth Management LLC now owns 20,198 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $2,668,000 after buying an additional 2,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FORA Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Valero Energy during the 1st quarter valued at about $866,000. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on VLO. Wolfe Research cut Valero Energy from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. TD Cowen cut Valero Energy from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $118.00 to $140.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Raymond James Financial raised their price objective on Valero Energy from $170.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 9th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Valero Energy from $135.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Valero Energy from $151.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Valero Energy has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $163.80.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:VLO traded down $1.30 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $162.55. 8,119,393 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,495,504. The company has a market cap of $50.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 67.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 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 Corporation has a one year low of $99.00 and a one year high of $165.65. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $146.45 and a 200 day moving average of $134.09.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.62. The firm had revenue of $29.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $27 billion. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 5.76% and a net margin of 0.62%.The company's quarterly revenue was down 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.71 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Valero Energy Corporation will post 7.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, July 31st were given a dividend of $1.13 per share. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 31st. Valero Energy's dividend payout ratio is 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.