Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Grows Stock Position in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its holdings in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 4.8% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 153,039 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 7,022 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $23,990,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Arkadios Wealth Advisors raised its stake in Valero Energy by 258.3% in the second quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 6,377 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,000,000 after buying an additional 4,597 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. raised its stake in Valero Energy by 1.5% in the second quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 76,962 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $12,064,000 after buying an additional 1,136 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. raised its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 1.3% in the second quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 184,297 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $28,890,000 after purchasing an additional 2,406 shares during the last quarter. OmniStar Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 1.6% in the second quarter. OmniStar Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,543 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $712,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HB Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 30.8% in the second quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 18,093 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,836,000 after purchasing an additional 4,261 shares during the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Valero Energy from $178.00 to $172.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company 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. Barclays reduced their price objective on Valero Energy from $171.00 to $165.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Valero Energy in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $177.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Argus cut Valero Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Valero Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $174.00.

Valero Energy Price Performance

VLO traded up $4.10 during trading on Friday, hitting $145.91. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,391,933 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,969,833. 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 Co. has a twelve month low of $119.88 and a twelve month high of $184.79. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $150.50 and its 200 day simple moving average is $155.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 1.42.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The oil and gas company reported $2.71 earnings per share 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 company 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 company posted $5.40 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Valero Energy Co. will post 12.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Investors 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.93%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.20%.

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.