Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI Acquires 1,224 Shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI raised its stake in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 82.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,706 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,224 shares during the period. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $424,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of VLO. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Valero Energy by 5.8% in the 2nd 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 buying an additional 237,347 shares during the last quarter. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Valero Energy by 3.1% in the second quarter. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,709 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,357,000 after purchasing an additional 263 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 3.7% during the second quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 5,003 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $784,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Valero Energy by 1,795.6% during the 2nd quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 25,193 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $3,949,000 after purchasing an additional 23,864 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC boosted its stake in Valero Energy by 27.0% in the 2nd quarter. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC now owns 37,131 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $5,820,000 after purchasing an additional 7,895 shares during the period. 78.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Valero Energy Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of VLO stock opened at $136.76 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $145.85 and its 200 day simple moving average is $155.24. Valero Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $119.88 and a twelve month high of $184.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 analysts’ expectations 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 for the quarter was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $5.40 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Valero Energy Co. will post 12.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, August 1st were issued a $1.07 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 1st. This represents a $4.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.13%. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is 21.20%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on VLO shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Valero Energy from $178.00 to $172.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $175.00 to $171.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $165.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Barclays reduced their price target on Valero Energy from $171.00 to $165.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on Valero Energy from $149.00 to $131.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $171.36.

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.