Prudent Man Advisors LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Prudent Man Advisors LLC lowered its stake in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 14.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,837 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 804 shares during the period. Prudent Man Advisors LLC’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $653,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of VLO. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its stake in Valero Energy by 126.4% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 46,649 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $6,299,000 after purchasing an additional 26,044 shares during the period. Claro Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 69.7% in the third quarter. Claro Advisors LLC now owns 5,266 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $711,000 after purchasing an additional 2,162 shares during the last quarter. Concord Asset Management LLC VA increased its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 5.7% in the third quarter. Concord Asset Management LLC VA now owns 2,930 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $396,000 after buying an additional 157 shares during the period. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Valero Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, GoalVest Advisory LLC grew its holdings in Valero Energy by 7.7% in the 3rd quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 7,024 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $948,000 after acquiring an additional 504 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Valero Energy Price Performance

Shares of VLO opened at $140.16 on Monday. Valero Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $120.21 and a twelve month high of $184.79. The company has a market capitalization of $44.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.39. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $135.83 and a 200 day moving average of $146.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The oil and gas company reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $32.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.04 billion. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 13.07% and a net margin of 2.74%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 14.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $7.49 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Valero Energy Co. will post 9.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The business 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 dividend of $1.07 per share. This represents a $4.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.05%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 38.39%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $175.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on Valero Energy from $149.00 to $131.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Citigroup decreased their target price on Valero Energy from $192.00 to $176.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Piper Sandler cut shares of Valero Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the company from $169.00 to $123.00 in a report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Scotiabank decreased their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $173.00 to $141.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 10th. 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 data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $155.86.

About Valero Energy

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.