James Investment Research Inc. Sells 374 Shares of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO)

James Investment Research Inc. lowered its stake in Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) by 0.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 42,757 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 374 shares during the quarter. James Investment Research Inc.’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $5,647,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sendero Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Valero Energy by 11.0% in the first quarter. Sendero Wealth Management LLC now owns 20,198 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,668,000 after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares during the last quarter. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Valero Energy by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC now owns 178,293 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $21,857,000 after buying an additional 5,203 shares during the period. AlTi Global Inc. boosted its holdings in Valero Energy by 18.2% in the 4th quarter. AlTi Global Inc. now owns 64,793 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $8,585,000 after buying an additional 9,963 shares during the period. Trexquant Investment LP boosted its holdings in Valero Energy by 1,930.4% in the 4th quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 113,603 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $13,927,000 after buying an additional 108,008 shares during the period. Finally, Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC lifted its stake in Valero Energy by 130.0% in the 4th quarter. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 7,884 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $967,000 after purchasing an additional 4,456 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VLO has been the topic of several recent research reports. Citigroup cut shares of Valero Energy from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the company from $134.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Wednesday. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $140.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Valero Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $127.00 to $154.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $151.00 to $168.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $152.00 to $147.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $153.94.

Valero Energy Price Performance

Shares of VLO opened at $149.04 on Wednesday. Valero Energy Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $99.00 and a fifty-two week high of $167.78. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $135.20 and its 200 day moving average price is $129.65. The company has a market cap of $46.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.66, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The oil and gas company reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.16 by ($0.27). Valero Energy had a net margin of 0.72% and a return on equity of 6.30%. The firm had revenue of $28.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $28.54 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.82 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Valero Energy Corporation will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 20th were given a $1.13 dividend. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.03%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 20th. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 159.72%.

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.