Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) Stock Position Reduced by Royal London Asset Management Ltd.

Royal London Asset Management Ltd. decreased its position in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 17.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 434,861 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 89,676 shares during the quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. owned 0.13% of Valero Energy worth $68,169,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. EdgeRock Capital LLC acquired a new position in Valero Energy in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Lynx Investment Advisory bought a new position in Valero Energy during the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in Valero Energy in the first quarter worth $33,000. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Valero Energy in the first quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Valero Energy during the second quarter valued at $31,000. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Mizuho raised 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 report on Wednesday, July 17th. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on Valero Energy from $187.00 to $169.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, June 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Valero Energy from $178.00 to $172.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Argus cut shares of Valero Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 16th. Finally, Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Valero Energy in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $177.00 target price for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $174.50.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

Shares of VLO stock opened at $134.17 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $148.31 and its 200-day simple moving average is $155.70. The company has a market capitalization of $42.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.65, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a current ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. Valero Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $119.88 and a 1-year high of $184.79.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The oil and gas company reported $2.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.60 by $0.11. Valero Energy had a net margin of 4.25% and a return on equity of 21.01%. The firm had revenue of $34.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $32.97 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $5.40 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Valero Energy Co. will post 12.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 1st were paid a dividend of $1.07 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 1st. This represents a $4.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.19%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.20%.

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.