StoneX Group Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

StoneX Group Inc. grew its stake in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 17.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,034 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,404 shares during the period. StoneX Group Inc.’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $2,165,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of VLO. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Valero Energy by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,287,269 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,389,090,000 after buying an additional 50,837 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 2.8% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 6,956,743 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,090,532,000 after acquiring an additional 192,397 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 237,347 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Valero Energy by 18.8% during the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,585,166 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $484,105,000 after purchasing an additional 567,059 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc boosted its holdings in Valero Energy by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,809,355 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $440,394,000 after purchasing an additional 82,539 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VLO has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Mizuho reduced their price target on Valero Energy from $175.00 to $171.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 16th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Valero Energy from $175.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 4th. TD Cowen lowered 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. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $192.00 to $176.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Valero Energy from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $172.00 to $165.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Valero Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $155.86.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

NYSE VLO opened at $140.91 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The stock has a market cap of $44.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 1.39. Valero Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $120.21 and a fifty-two week high of $184.79. The business has a fifty day moving average of $136.59 and a 200-day moving average of $145.89.

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

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be issued a $1.07 dividend. This represents a $4.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is currently 38.39%.

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.