LPL Financial LLC Acquires 27,635 Shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

LPL Financial LLC grew its position in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 6.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 436,186 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 27,635 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial LLC owned about 0.13% of Valero Energy worth $68,377,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $570,428,000. Putnam Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Valero Energy by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Putnam Investments LLC now owns 3,445,821 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $447,957,000 after purchasing an additional 122,207 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in Valero Energy by 3.3% during 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 acquiring an additional 65,632 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Valero Energy by 37.6% during the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,558,750 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $266,040,000 after acquiring an additional 426,093 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its stake in Valero Energy by 3.6% during the 1st quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,548,476 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $264,309,000 after acquiring an additional 53,789 shares in the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on VLO. StockNews.com lowered shares of Valero Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $187.00 to $169.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 14th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $171.00 to $165.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Mizuho upgraded shares of Valero Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $165.00 to $175.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Valero Energy in a report on Thursday, July 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $177.00 price objective on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $174.50.

Valero Energy Price Performance

VLO opened at $134.26 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. Valero Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $119.88 and a 52-week high of $184.79. The company has a 50 day moving average of $146.50 and a two-hundred day moving average of $155.28. The company has a market cap of $43.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.65, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 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 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.60 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $34.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $32.97 billion. Valero Energy had a net margin of 4.25% and a return on equity of 21.01%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $5.40 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Valero Energy Co. will post 12.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 1st were paid a dividend of $1.07 per share. This represents a $4.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 1st. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.20%.

Valero Energy Company 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.