Valero Energy Corporation $VLO Stock Sold by ProShare Advisors LLC

ProShare Advisors LLC lowered its stake in Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 52,960 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 2,614 shares during the quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $20,528,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in shares of Valero Energy in the second quarter worth about $1,195,943,000. Amundi grew its holdings in Valero Energy by 45.3% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 2,584,976 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $638,695,000 after buying an additional 806,018 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in Valero Energy by 33.9% during the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,058,341 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $536,074,000 after buying an additional 520,642 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LP bought a new stake in Valero Energy in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $59,917,000. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its stake in Valero Energy by 18.4% in the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,842,339 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $702,285,000 after acquiring an additional 442,177 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Valero Energy

Here are the key news stories impacting Valero Energy this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley raised its price target for VLO to $420 from $411 while maintaining an “equal weight” rating. The new target implies roughly 10% upside from the referenced share price, providing some support despite the neutral recommendation. Morgan Stanley raises Valero Energy price target
• Positive Sentiment: Valero agreed to acquire LyondellBasell’s former Houston refinery site for $320.5 million. The transaction could expand or improve Valero’s refining asset base and may offer longer-term operating and portfolio benefits, although near-term financial effects were not detailed. LyondellBasell to Sell Former Houston Refinery Site
• Positive Sentiment: Recent research continues to characterize VLO as a value-oriented stock. Zacks highlighted Valero among companies with favorable profitability and valuation characteristics, while noting its strong return on equity and relatively inexpensive earnings multiple. Why Valero Energy Is a Top Value Stock
• Neutral Sentiment: Unusually high options volume was reported for VLO. Elevated activity can signal increased investor positioning or expectations for volatility, but the report does not establish whether traders are bullish or bearish. Valero Energy Sees Unusually High Options Volume

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VLO has been the topic of several recent research reports. Erste Group Bank cut Valero Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 27th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $485.00 to $490.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Valero Energy from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research report on Thursday. Zacks Research raised shares of Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, UBS Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $467.00 target price on shares of Valero Energy in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Valero Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $380.47.

Valero Energy Price Performance

Valero Energy stock opened at $380.86 on Tuesday. Valero Energy Corporation has a 12-month low of $159.90 and a 12-month high of $461.52. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $398.27 and a 200-day moving average price of $286.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $109.66 billion, a PE ratio of 8.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.20 and a beta of 0.59.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The oil and gas company reported $23.90 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $21.17 by $2.73. Valero Energy had a net margin of 8.44% and a return on equity of 47.50%. The company had revenue of $46.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $42.71 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.66 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 43.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Valero Energy Corporation will post 57.42 EPS for the current year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 21st. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 24th will be issued a dividend of $1.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 24th. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is presently 10.80%.

Valero Energy Profile

Valero Energy Corporation is an international energy company headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. The company’s primary business is refining and marketing transportation fuels, including gasoline, diesel, jet fuel and other products used by commercial, industrial and consumer customers.

Valero operates refineries in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. Its refining operations also produce asphalt, petrochemical feedstocks and other petroleum-based products. The company markets fuel through wholesale channels and branded retail networks, including Valero, Beacon and Shamrock-branded locations.

In addition to conventional refining, Valero has businesses focused on renewable fuels.