Wambolt & Associates LLC Buys 474 Shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Wambolt & Associates LLC raised its stake in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 4.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 10,059 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 474 shares during the period. Wambolt & Associates LLC’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $1,589,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. BOKF NA raised its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 46.7% in the second quarter. BOKF NA now owns 25,386 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $3,980,000 after purchasing an additional 8,083 shares during the last quarter. Achmea Investment Management B.V. grew its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter. Achmea Investment Management B.V. now owns 91,810 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $14,393,000 after purchasing an additional 3,390 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 6.8% in the 2nd quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 436,186 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $68,377,000 after purchasing an additional 27,635 shares during the period. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Valero Energy by 261.8% during the second quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,809 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $284,000 after buying an additional 1,309 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AGF Management Ltd. increased its holdings in Valero Energy by 112.2% in the second quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 106,979 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $16,770,000 after buying an additional 56,567 shares in the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Valero Energy Stock Down 2.3 %

VLO stock opened at $132.90 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $43.46 billion, a PE ratio of 6.58, a PEG ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.40. Valero Energy Co. has a one year low of $119.88 and a one year high of $184.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.48. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $147.36 and its 200-day moving average price is $155.50.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The oil and gas company reported $2.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.60 by $0.11. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 21.01% and a net margin of 4.25%. The firm had revenue of $34.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $32.97 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $5.40 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Valero Energy Co. will post 12.3 EPS for the current year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 1st were paid a dividend of $1.07 per share. This represents a $4.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 1st. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.20%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on VLO. StockNews.com lowered Valero Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Valero Energy in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $177.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $165.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Mizuho raised shares of Valero Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $165.00 to $175.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Scotiabank increased their target price on Valero Energy from $165.00 to $173.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Valero Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $174.50.

Valero Energy Company 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.