Manning & Napier Advisors LLC Acquires Shares of 101,716 Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 101,716 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,945,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Valero Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $570,428,000. Putnam Investments LLC grew its position in shares of Valero Energy by 3.7% during 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 buying an additional 122,207 shares during the period. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. grew its position in shares of Valero Energy by 18.7% during 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 buying an additional 376,449 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in shares of Valero Energy by 3.3% during the 1st 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 during the period. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Valero Energy by 37.6% during the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,558,750 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $266,040,000 after buying an additional 426,093 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Valero Energy Stock Down 0.3 %

VLO traded down $0.53 during trading on Friday, reaching $151.08. The company had a trading volume of 1,565,845 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,042,393. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 1.48 and a quick ratio of 1.04. Valero Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $119.88 and a 12 month high of $184.79. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $152.37 and its 200 day moving average price is $154.60. The company has a market cap of $48.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.46, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.42.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.60 by $0.11. Valero Energy had a net margin of 4.25% and a return on equity of 21.01%. The firm had revenue of $34.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $32.97 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $5.40 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Valero Energy Co. will post 13.06 EPS for the current year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 1st will be issued a $1.07 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 1st. This represents a $4.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.83%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.20%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $171.00 to $165.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. TD Cowen lowered their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $190.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Valero Energy in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $177.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $178.00 to $172.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Valero Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Valero Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $174.00.

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.