Franklin Resources Inc. Buys 247,630 Shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 5.6% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 4,687,585 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 247,630 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $639,268,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. ORG Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Valero Energy during the second quarter worth approximately $87,000. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 3.9% in the second quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 19,449 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,049,000 after buying an additional 732 shares in the last quarter. Triad Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the second quarter valued at $39,000. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 3.5% during the second quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 2,440 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $382,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of Valero Energy by 130.9% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,136 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $194,000 after acquiring an additional 644 shares in the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VLO has been the topic of several recent research reports. Scotiabank dropped their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $173.00 to $141.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Barclays dropped their target price on Valero Energy from $146.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on Valero Energy from $149.00 to $131.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 16th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on Valero Energy from $175.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Valero Energy in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $150.00 price objective on the stock. 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 issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $155.50.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:VLO opened at $129.14 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $40.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.39. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $136.27 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $143.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 1.11. Valero Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $124.02 and a 1 year high of $184.79.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The oil and gas company reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $32.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.04 billion. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 13.07% and a net margin of 2.74%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $7.49 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Valero Energy Co. will post 8.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be paid a dividend of $1.07 per share. This represents a $4.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is currently 38.39%.

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.