Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) Declares $1.20 Quarterly Dividend

Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, July 16th. Investors of record on Friday, July 31st will be given a dividend of 1.20 per share by the oil and gas company on Monday, August 31st. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 31st.

Valero Energy has increased its dividend by an average of 0.0%annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 4 consecutive years. Valero Energy has a payout ratio of 48.0% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Valero Energy to earn $22.59 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $4.80 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 21.2%.

Valero Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE VLO opened at $300.48 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $257.59 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $228.76. The company has a market cap of $89.22 billion, a PE ratio of 21.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.36 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. Valero Energy has a twelve month low of $130.78 and a twelve month high of $303.64.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The oil and gas company reported $4.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.16 by $1.06. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 15.94% and a net margin of 3.37%.The firm had revenue of $32.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.38 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.89 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Valero Energy will post 32.04 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on VLO. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Valero Energy from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Valero Energy from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 4th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $261.00 to $279.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Raymond James Financial increased their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $276.00 to $292.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $253.06.

Valero Energy Company Profile

Valero Energy Corporation is a San Antonio, Texas–based integrated downstream energy company that manufactures and markets transportation fuels, petrochemical feedstocks and other industrial products. The company’s operations focus on refining crude oil into finished fuels such as gasoline, diesel and jet fuel, as well as producing asphalt and other refined product streams for commercial and industrial customers.

In addition to refining, Valero has significant operations in renewable fuels, including the production of ethanol and other biofuels, and it manages an extensive logistics network of pipelines, terminals, rail and marine assets to move feedstocks and finished products.