Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) PT Lowered to $151.00 at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) had its price objective cut by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $172.00 to $151.00 in a research note published on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the oil and gas company’s stock.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on VLO. Scotiabank raised their price objective on Valero Energy from $165.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock a sector outperform rating in a report on Friday, July 12th. Barclays lowered their price target on Valero Energy from $171.00 to $165.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Mizuho reduced their price objective on Valero Energy from $175.00 to $171.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Valero Energy from $165.00 to $172.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on Valero Energy from $149.00 to $131.00 and set a sell rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Valero Energy currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $165.20.

Valero Energy Stock Down 1.1 %

VLO stock opened at $142.42 on Wednesday. Valero Energy has a one year low of $119.88 and a one year high of $184.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.05, a PEG ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $142.67 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $153.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.48.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The oil and gas company reported $2.71 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.60 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $34.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $32.97 billion. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 21.01% and a net margin of 4.25%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $5.40 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Valero Energy will post 10.13 EPS for the current year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, August 1st were paid a $1.07 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 1st. This represents a $4.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.01%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.20%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Valero Energy

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in Valero Energy by 2.8% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 6,956,743 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,090,532,000 after purchasing an additional 192,397 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 5.8% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,319,436 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $677,007,000 after buying an additional 237,347 shares during the period. Putnam Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Putnam Investments LLC now owns 3,445,821 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $447,957,000 after buying an additional 122,207 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Valero Energy by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,018,107 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $473,118,000 after buying an additional 56,989 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in shares of Valero Energy by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,809,355 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $440,394,000 after purchasing an additional 82,539 shares during the period. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.