Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) Stock Position Raised by Pacer Advisors Inc.

Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 13.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,072,188 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 487,022 shares during the period. Valero Energy comprises about 1.1% of Pacer Advisors Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $499,210,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of VLO. Quad Cities Investment Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Quad Cities Investment Group LLC now owns 4,851 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $655,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Valero Energy by 0.9% in the third quarter. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,784 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,169,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. New Century Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 5.0% during the third quarter. New Century Financial Group LLC now owns 1,708 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $231,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the period. Segment Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Valero Energy by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Segment Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,947 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $606,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Opal Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,834 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $248,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the period. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on VLO. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $146.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Scotiabank decreased their price objective on Valero Energy from $173.00 to $141.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Piper Sandler raised Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. TD Cowen decreased their price target on Valero Energy from $145.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $175.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Valero Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $154.54.

Valero Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE VLO opened at $139.80 on Monday. Valero Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $116.84 and a twelve 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 firm has a 50-day moving average of $131.28 and a two-hundred day moving average of $137.82. The company has a market capitalization of $44.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.54, a PEG ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 1.42.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The oil and gas company reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $32.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.04 billion. Valero Energy had a net margin of 2.74% and a return on equity of 13.07%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $7.49 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Valero Energy Co. will post 7.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 30th will be paid a dividend of $1.13 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 30th. This is a positive change from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.07. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.23%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.39%.

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.