Prospera Financial Services Inc Has $1.53 Million Stock Position in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Prospera Financial Services Inc grew its holdings in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 11,350 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 363 shares during the quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $1,534,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in Valero Energy by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 6,956,743 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,090,532,000 after purchasing an additional 192,397 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Valero Energy by 5.8% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,319,436 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $677,007,000 after buying an additional 237,347 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,018,107 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $473,118,000 after acquiring an additional 56,989 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its position in Valero Energy by 3.0% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,809,355 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $440,394,000 after purchasing an additional 82,539 shares during the period. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in Valero Energy by 3.3% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,063,923 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $352,292,000 after buying an additional 65,632 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

Shares of VLO stock opened at $141.41 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $44.77 billion, a PE ratio of 12.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.39. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $136.46 and a 200-day moving average of $146.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 1.11. Valero Energy Co. has a one year low of $120.21 and a one year high of $184.79.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The oil and gas company reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.16. Valero Energy had a net margin of 2.74% and a return on equity of 13.07%. The company had revenue of $32.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.04 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $7.49 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Valero Energy Co. will post 8.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be paid a $1.07 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $4.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.03%. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is 38.39%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VLO has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Piper Sandler downgraded Valero Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $169.00 to $123.00 in a report on Friday, September 20th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $192.00 to $176.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Mizuho decreased their target price on Valero Energy from $175.00 to $171.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 16th. Scotiabank decreased their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $173.00 to $141.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $145.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Valero Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $155.86.

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.