Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Sells 635 Shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans reduced its holdings in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 20,605 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 635 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Valero Energy were worth $3,230,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 5.8% in the second 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 purchasing an additional 237,347 shares during the last quarter. Putnam Investments LLC grew its stake in 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 last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Valero Energy by 1.9% in 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 acquiring an additional 56,989 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in Valero Energy by 3.3% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,063,923 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $352,292,000 after acquiring an additional 65,632 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 37.6% during the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,558,750 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $266,040,000 after acquiring an additional 426,093 shares during the period. 78.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Valero Energy Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of VLO opened at $135.97 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.73, a PEG ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 1.40. Valero Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $119.88 and a 52 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 stock has a fifty day moving average of $144.01 and a 200-day moving average of $154.61.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 21.01% and a net margin of 4.25%. The firm had revenue of $34.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $32.97 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $5.40 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Valero Energy Co. will post 10.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 1st were given a $1.07 dividend. This represents a $4.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.15%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 1st. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.20%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Valero Energy from $165.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Valero Energy in a report on Thursday, July 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $177.00 price objective for the company. Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $165.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $149.00 to $131.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Valero Energy from $178.00 to $172.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Valero Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $168.07.

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.