Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Acquires 244 Shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its holdings in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 0.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 35,879 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 244 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $5,624,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in VLO. Hutchinson Capital Management CA lifted its holdings in Valero Energy by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Hutchinson Capital Management CA now owns 58,567 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $9,181,000 after buying an additional 235 shares in the last quarter. Tiff Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 99.9% during the second quarter. Tiff Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,467 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $387,000 after acquiring an additional 1,233 shares in the last quarter. Choreo LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 120.9% in the second quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 12,625 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,994,000 after purchasing an additional 6,911 shares during the period. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. grew its stake in Valero Energy by 2.3% in the second quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. now owns 3,461 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $543,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ballentine Partners LLC increased its holdings in Valero Energy by 5.8% during the 2nd quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 2,213 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $347,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares during the period. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Valero Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE VLO opened at $132.90 on Thursday. Valero Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $119.88 and a fifty-two week high of $184.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.48. The company has a market cap of $43.46 billion, a PE ratio of 6.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.40. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $147.36 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $155.50.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The oil and gas company reported $2.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.60 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $34.49 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $32.97 billion. Valero Energy had a net margin of 4.25% and a return on equity of 21.01%. Valero Energy’s revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $5.40 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Valero Energy Co. will post 12.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 1st were given a dividend of $1.07 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 1st. This represents a $4.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.22%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.20%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VLO has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wolfe Research started coverage on Valero Energy in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $177.00 price target on the stock. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $171.00 to $165.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $165.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Mizuho raised shares of Valero Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $165.00 to $175.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Valero Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Valero Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $174.50.

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.