Empirical Finance LLC Lowers Stock Position in Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Empirical Finance LLC cut its position in shares of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) by 22.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 12,613 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 3,694 shares during the quarter. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $1,695,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Valero Energy by 12.0% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 38,881,222 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $5,135,043,000 after buying an additional 4,155,522 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Valero Energy by 6.9% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,437,765 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,510,586,000 after purchasing an additional 736,533 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in Valero Energy by 276.9% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 10,795,436 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,425,754,000 after purchasing an additional 7,931,018 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Valero Energy by 16.7% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,141,511 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,089,897,000 after purchasing an additional 1,164,217 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 34.1% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,905,145 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $647,823,000 after purchasing an additional 1,247,196 shares in the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on VLO shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Valero Energy from $177.00 to $197.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Valero Energy from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $160.00 to $175.00 in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. Bank of America raised shares of Valero Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $152.00 to $179.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Barclays raised their target price on Valero Energy from $169.00 to $184.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Valero Energy from $181.00 to $194.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $182.00.

Valero Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:VLO opened at $180.23 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $54.97 billion, a PE ratio of 37.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.01. Valero Energy Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $99.00 and a fifty-two week high of $185.62. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $168.09 and a 200 day simple moving average of $148.96. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The oil and gas company reported $3.66 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.15 by $0.51. The company had revenue of $32.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $28.80 billion. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 8.69% and a net margin of 1.21%.Valero Energy’s quarterly revenue was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.14 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Valero Energy Corporation will post 7.92 EPS for the current year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 20th will be given a dividend of $1.13 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 20th. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 94.36%.

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.