Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) Shares Sold by Bahl & Gaynor Inc.

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 0.9% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 21,817 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 195 shares during the quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc.’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $3,420,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in VLO. Collective Family Office LLC grew its holdings in Valero Energy by 1.5% during the first quarter. Collective Family Office LLC now owns 4,040 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $690,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 4.7% in the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,327 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $227,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. International Private Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 3.4% in the 2nd quarter. International Private Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,970 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $309,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Aua Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Valero Energy by 3.1% during the first quarter. Aua Capital Management LLC now owns 2,261 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $386,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Finally, OmniStar Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Valero Energy by 1.6% during the second quarter. OmniStar Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,543 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $712,000 after buying an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Valero Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:VLO opened at $132.90 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $43.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.40. Valero Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $119.88 and a 1 year high of $184.79. The company has a current ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $147.36 and a 200 day simple moving average of $155.50.

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, 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $32.97 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $5.40 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Valero Energy Co. will post 12.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 1st. This represents a $4.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.22%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.20%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on VLO shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Valero Energy from $178.00 to $172.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Valero Energy from $165.00 to $172.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Barclays cut their price objective on Valero Energy from $171.00 to $165.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Mizuho upgraded shares of Valero Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $165.00 to $175.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Argus lowered shares of Valero Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Valero Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $174.50.

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.