Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) Shares Purchased by Pacer Advisors Inc.

Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 13.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,072,188 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 487,022 shares during the period. Valero Energy accounts for about 1.1% of Pacer Advisors Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest position. Pacer Advisors Inc. owned about 1.29% of Valero Energy worth $499,210,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Valero Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA acquired a new stake in shares of Valero Energy in the third quarter worth approximately $34,000. True Wealth Design LLC increased its position in Valero Energy by 196.8% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 276 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Valero Energy during the third quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at $50,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on VLO. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Valero Energy from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 9th. 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 research note on Thursday, October 10th. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $145.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $175.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Piper Sandler upgraded Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Valero Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $154.54.

Valero Energy Trading Down 0.7 %

NYSE VLO opened at $139.80 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $44.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 1.11. Valero Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $116.84 and a 12 month high of $184.79. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $131.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $137.82.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last issued its quarterly 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. Valero Energy had a net margin of 2.74% and a return on equity of 13.07%. The business had revenue of $32.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $7.49 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 14.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Valero Energy Co. will post 7.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 30th will be issued a $1.13 dividend. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.23%. This is an increase from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.07. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 30th. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is 38.39%.

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.