Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) Shares Bought by Dimensional Fund Advisors LP

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 5.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,319,436 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 237,347 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned about 1.35% of Valero Energy worth $677,007,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. EdgeRock Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Valero Energy in the second quarter worth about $27,000. Lynx Investment Advisory purchased a new position in Valero Energy in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new stake in Valero Energy in the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the first quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Pathway Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of Valero Energy during the first quarter worth $33,000. 78.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on VLO shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target 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. StockNews.com cut Valero Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Mizuho upgraded shares of Valero Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $165.00 to $175.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Barclays reduced their target price on Valero Energy from $171.00 to $165.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Valero Energy from $165.00 to $172.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued 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 price target of $174.50.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

Shares of VLO opened at $134.26 on Monday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $146.50 and a two-hundred day moving average of $155.48. The stock has a market cap of $43.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.65, a PEG ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.40. 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 one year low of $119.88 and a one year high of $184.79.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The oil and gas company reported $2.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $32.97 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $5.40 earnings per share. Valero Energy’s quarterly revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Valero Energy Co. will post 12.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 3.19%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 1st. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.20%.

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.