Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) Plans $1.20 Quarterly Dividend

Key Points

• Valero Energy announced a quarterly dividend of $1.20 per share, payable on August 31 to shareholders of record on July 31. The stock’s dividend yield was noted at about 1.6%.
• The company has raised its dividend annually for the last four consecutive years, and its payout ratio of 48% suggests the dividend is covered by earnings. Analysts expect Valero to continue covering the annual dividend comfortably next year.
• Valero’s latest quarterly results beat expectations, with EPS of $4.22 versus the $3.16 consensus and revenue of $32.38 billion. Analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy with an average price target of $253.06.

Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO - Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, July 16th. Investors of record on Friday, July 31st will be given a dividend of 1.20 per share by the oil and gas company on Monday, August 31st. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 31st.

Valero Energy has increased its dividend payment by an average of 0.0%per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 4 consecutive years. Valero Energy has a dividend payout ratio of 48.0% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Valero Energy to earn $22.59 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $4.80 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 21.2%.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

Shares of VLO stock opened at $300.48 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.58. Valero Energy has a 52 week low of $130.78 and a 52 week high of $303.64. The company's 50 day moving average price is $257.59 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $228.76. The company has a market capitalization of $89.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.36 and a beta of 0.55.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The oil and gas company reported $4.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.16 by $1.06. Valero Energy had a net margin of 3.37% and a return on equity of 15.94%. The company had revenue of $32.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $31.38 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.89 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Valero Energy will post 32.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on VLO. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $232.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, June 12th. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $280.00 price target on shares of Valero Energy in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. Barclays boosted their price target on Valero Energy from $261.00 to $279.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Citigroup increased their price objective on Valero Energy from $259.00 to $302.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Valero Energy from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Valero Energy has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $253.06.

Valero Energy Company Profile

Valero Energy Corporation is a San Antonio, Texas–based integrated downstream energy company that manufactures and markets transportation fuels, petrochemical feedstocks and other industrial products. The company's operations focus on refining crude oil into finished fuels such as gasoline, diesel and jet fuel, as well as producing asphalt and other refined product streams for commercial and industrial customers.

In addition to refining, Valero has significant operations in renewable fuels, including the production of ethanol and other biofuels, and it manages an extensive logistics network of pipelines, terminals, rail and marine assets to move feedstocks and finished products.

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