Freedom Investment Management Inc. Has $1.23 Million Holdings in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Freedom Investment Management Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 5.0% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 9,126 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 480 shares during the quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $1,232,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Cynosure Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 9.2% during the third quarter. Cynosure Group LLC now owns 2,741 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $370,000 after buying an additional 232 shares during the last quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 48.7% in the third quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,383 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $187,000 after purchasing an additional 453 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the third quarter valued at $6,573,000. Summit Financial Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 0.4% in the third quarter. Summit Financial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 85,792 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $11,584,000 after purchasing an additional 319 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd raised its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 183.4% in the third quarter. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd now owns 7,726 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,043,000 after purchasing an additional 5,000 shares in the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Valero Energy Price Performance

Shares of VLO stock opened at $138.55 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $136.83 and its 200-day moving average is $145.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.86 billion, a PE ratio of 12.43, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.39. Valero Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $120.21 and a 52 week high of $184.79.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The oil and gas company reported $1.14 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 return on equity of 13.07% and a net margin of 2.74%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $7.49 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Valero Energy Co. will post 8.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The company 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 $1.07 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $4.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.09%. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is 38.39%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on VLO. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Valero Energy from $175.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Barclays cut their target price on Valero Energy from $146.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Valero Energy from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and cut their target price for the company from $172.00 to $165.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Piper Sandler cut Valero Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $169.00 to $123.00 in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target 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. One investment 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $155.86.

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.