Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) to Issue Dividend Increase – $1.20 Per Share

Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, January 22nd. Investors of record on Thursday, February 5th will be given a dividend of 1.20 per share by the oil and gas company on Monday, March 9th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 5th. This is a 6.2% increase from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.13.

Valero Energy has raised its dividend by an average of 0.0%per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 4 consecutive years. Valero Energy has a dividend payout ratio of 45.2% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Valero Energy to earn $10.45 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $4.52 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 43.3%.

Valero Energy Stock Up 1.1%

VLO stock opened at $188.88 on Friday. Valero Energy has a 12 month low of $99.00 and a 12 month high of $193.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.61 billion, a PE ratio of 39.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.77. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $174.62 and its 200-day simple moving average is $162.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 1.09.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 23rd. The oil and gas company reported $3.66 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.15 by $0.51. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 8.69% and a net margin of 1.21%.The firm had revenue of $32.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $28.80 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.14 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Valero Energy will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on VLO. Morgan Stanley lowered Valero Energy from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $160.00 to $175.00 in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $216.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $197.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Valero Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Valero Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $183.00.

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.