Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC Buys Shares of 2,633 Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

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

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in VLO. First Command Advisory Services Inc. increased its position in shares of Valero Energy by 41.7% in the second quarter. First Command Advisory Services Inc. now owns 510 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $80,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC now owns 5,068 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $794,000 after buying an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 1.4% in the second quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 9,522 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,493,000 after buying an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky increased its holdings in Valero Energy by 6.9% during the second quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 3,033 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $475,000 after buying an additional 195 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC raised its position in Valero Energy by 4.3% during the second quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC now owns 12,818 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,009,000 after acquiring an additional 533 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on VLO. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped 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. Piper Sandler cut their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $187.00 to $169.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, June 14th. Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $165.00 to $173.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 12th. StockNews.com cut Valero Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Mizuho upgraded Valero Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $165.00 to $175.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $174.00.

Valero Energy Price Performance

Shares of VLO opened at $140.93 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $45.15 billion, a PE ratio of 6.98, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $150.85 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $155.69. Valero Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $119.88 and a 12-month high of $184.79.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The oil and gas company reported $2.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $32.97 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $5.40 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Valero Energy Co. will post 12.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Shareholders 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 dividend payout ratio is presently 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.