Dana Investment Advisors Inc. Sells 539 Shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Dana Investment Advisors Inc. decreased its stake in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 21,234 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 539 shares during the period. Dana Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $3,329,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in VLO. EdgeRock Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Valero Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Lynx Investment Advisory acquired a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the second quarter worth $29,000. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new position in Valero Energy during the second quarter worth $31,000. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Valero Energy during the first quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Pathway Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in Valero Energy during the 1st quarter worth about $33,000. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on VLO shares. Scotiabank upped their target price on Valero Energy from $165.00 to $173.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 12th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $165.00 to $146.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Piper Sandler downgraded shares of Valero Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $169.00 to $123.00 in a research report on Friday, September 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $172.00 to $151.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased 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, September 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $165.21.

Valero Energy Price Performance

Shares of VLO opened at $135.61 on Thursday. Valero Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $119.88 and a twelve month high of $184.79. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $143.27 and a 200 day moving average of $154.12. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The company has a market capitalization of $44.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 1.40.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The oil and gas company reported $2.71 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 return on equity of 21.01% and a net margin of 4.25%. Valero Energy’s revenue for the quarter was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $5.40 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Valero Energy Co. will post 10.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Investors 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 yield of 3.16%. Valero Energy’s payout ratio 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.