Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) Plans Quarterly Dividend of $1.13

Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO - Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, July 17th, RTT News reports. Investors of record on Thursday, July 31st will be given a dividend of 1.13 per share by the oil and gas company on Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.12%.

Valero Energy has a payout ratio of 45.2% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Valero Energy to earn $10.45 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $4.52 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 43.3%.

Valero Energy Price Performance

Valero Energy stock traded up $1.68 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $144.87. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,418,801 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,086,152. Valero Energy has a 52 week low of $99.00 and a 52 week high of $167.78. The company has a current ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $135.73 and a 200-day moving average price of $129.74. The stock has a market cap of $45.37 billion, a PE ratio of 51.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 1.00.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The oil and gas company reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.16 by ($0.27). The company had revenue of $28.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $28.54 billion. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 6.30% and a net margin of 0.72%. Valero Energy's revenue for the quarter was down 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.82 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Valero Energy will post 7.92 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on shares of Valero Energy in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. They set an "in-line" rating and a $135.00 price target on the stock. Wolfe Research lowered shares of Valero Energy from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Monday. TD Cowen dropped their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $121.00 to $118.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Raymond James Financial increased their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $155.00 to $172.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Citigroup lowered shares of Valero Energy from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their price target for the company from $134.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Wednesday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $153.94.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A hedge fund recently raised its stake in Valero Energy stock. Woodline Partners LP raised its position in Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO - Free Report) by 40.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 26,747 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after acquiring an additional 7,735 shares during the quarter. Woodline Partners LP's holdings in Valero Energy were worth $3,532,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. 78.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Valero Energy

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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