Manning & Napier Advisors LLC Acquires Shares of 101,716 Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 101,716 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,945,000.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Arkadios Wealth Advisors increased its position in shares of Valero Energy by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 1,690 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $220,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Valero Energy by 9.2% in the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 158,343 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $20,585,000 after acquiring an additional 13,307 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Valero Energy by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 137,383 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $17,860,000 after acquiring an additional 425 shares during the last quarter. RFG Advisory LLC increased its holdings in Valero Energy by 10.1% in the 4th quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 2,277 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $296,000 after acquiring an additional 209 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY increased its holdings in Valero Energy by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY now owns 16,798 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,184,000 after acquiring an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Valero Energy Price Performance

NYSE:VLO traded down $0.53 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $151.08. The stock had a trading volume of 1,565,845 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,042,393. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $152.37 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $154.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.42. Valero Energy Co. has a one year low of $119.88 and a one year 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.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.60 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $34.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $32.97 billion. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 21.01% and a net margin of 4.25%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $5.40 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Valero Energy Co. will post 13.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 1st will be paid a $1.07 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 1st. This represents a $4.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.83%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.20%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on VLO shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Valero Energy from $178.00 to $172.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Valero Energy in a report on Thursday, July 18th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $177.00 target price for the company. Argus lowered Valero Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 16th. StockNews.com downgraded Valero Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Mizuho upgraded Valero Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $165.00 to $175.00 in a research 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 issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $174.00.

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.