Valero Energy Corporation (VLO) To Go Ex-Dividend on July 31st

Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, July 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 31st will be paid a dividend of 1.20 per share by the oil and gas company on Monday, August 31st. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 31st.

Valero Energy has raised its dividend payment by an average of 0.0%annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 4 consecutive years. Valero Energy has a payout ratio of 48.0% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Valero Energy to earn $26.53 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $4.80 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 18.1%.

Valero Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE VLO opened at $299.32 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $266.89 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $236.48. Valero Energy has a fifty-two week low of $130.78 and a fifty-two week high of $320.24. The company has a market capitalization of $88.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.75, a P/E/G ratio of 0.20 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.58.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The oil and gas company reported $4.22 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.16 by $1.06. The firm had revenue of $32.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.38 billion. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 15.94% and a net margin of 3.37%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.89 EPS. Analysts expect that Valero Energy will post 36.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VLO has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Valero Energy from $259.00 to $302.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Valero Energy from $232.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Valero Energy from $220.00 to $292.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Valero Energy from $292.00 to $338.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $286.00 to $357.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $266.71.

Valero Energy Company Profile

Valero Energy Corporation is a San Antonio, Texas–based integrated downstream energy company that manufactures and markets transportation fuels, petrochemical feedstocks and other industrial products. The company’s operations focus on refining crude oil into finished fuels such as gasoline, diesel and jet fuel, as well as producing asphalt and other refined product streams for commercial and industrial customers.

In addition to refining, Valero has significant operations in renewable fuels, including the production of ethanol and other biofuels, and it manages an extensive logistics network of pipelines, terminals, rail and marine assets to move feedstocks and finished products.