Providence Wealth Advisors LLC Raises Holdings in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Providence Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 8,784 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 75 shares during the quarter. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $1,169,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 0.5% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,287,269 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,389,090,000 after purchasing an additional 50,837 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 192,397 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 237,347 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc grew its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 3.0% during 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 buying an additional 82,539 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Valero Energy Price Performance

VLO stock opened at $138.56 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $136.83 and a 200-day moving average of $145.47. Valero Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $120.21 and a 12-month high of $184.79. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The company has a market cap of $43.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.43, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.39.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The oil and gas company reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.04 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $7.49 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Valero Energy Co. will post 8.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be given a dividend of $1.07 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $4.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.09%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 38.39%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Valero Energy from $175.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 4th. Citigroup lowered their price target on Valero Energy from $192.00 to $176.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Bank of America assumed coverage on Valero Energy in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $150.00 price target on the stock. Barclays lowered their price target on Valero Energy from $146.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised Valero Energy from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $172.00 to $165.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Valero Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $155.86.

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.