Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 2,633 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $413,000.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of VLO. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Valero Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $570,428,000. Putnam Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Valero Energy by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Putnam Investments LLC now owns 3,445,821 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $447,957,000 after purchasing an additional 122,207 shares in the last quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. boosted its stake in Valero Energy by 18.7% in the 4th quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. now owns 2,389,654 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $310,655,000 after purchasing an additional 376,449 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 3.3% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,063,923 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $352,292,000 after buying an additional 65,632 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 37.6% during the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,558,750 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $266,040,000 after acquiring an additional 426,093 shares during the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Mizuho raised Valero Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $165.00 to $175.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Scotiabank increased their target price on Valero Energy from $165.00 to $173.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 12th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $156.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Valero Energy in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $177.00 price target on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $178.00 to $172.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $174.00.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

Shares of Valero Energy stock opened at $140.93 on Wednesday. Valero Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $119.88 and a 12 month high of $184.79. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $150.85 and its 200-day moving average price is $155.69. The firm has a market cap of $45.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.98, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a current ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The oil and gas company reported $2.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.60 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $34.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $32.97 billion. Valero Energy had a net margin of 4.25% and a return on equity of 21.01%. The company’s revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $5.40 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Valero Energy Co. will post 12.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, August 1st will be given a dividend of $1.07 per share. This represents a $4.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 1st. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is currently 21.20%.

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.