Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) Shares Bought by Meeder Advisory Services Inc.

Meeder Advisory Services Inc. grew its stake in Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) by 11.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,470 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 678 shares during the period. Meeder Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $854,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in VLO. Wayfinding Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Valero Energy during the first quarter worth $26,000. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 156.6% during the 1st quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 213 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the 1st quarter valued at about $44,000. Finally, Transce3nd LLC acquired a new position in Valero Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $58,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on VLO. Barclays raised their price objective on Valero Energy from $140.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Wolfe Research lowered shares of Valero Energy from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $151.00 to $168.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $152.00 to $147.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $164.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Valero Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $154.47.

Valero Energy Trading Down 3.7%

VLO opened at $139.33 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 1.00. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $138.35 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $131.16. Valero Energy Corporation has a 1-year low of $99.00 and a 1-year high of $167.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 1.62 and a quick ratio of 1.11.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The oil and gas company reported $2.28 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.62. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 5.76% and a net margin of 0.62%. The firm had revenue of $29.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $27 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.71 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Valero Energy Corporation will post 7.92 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 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, July 31st will be issued a $1.13 dividend. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 31st. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 188.33%.

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.