Pacer Advisors Inc. Acquires 567,059 Shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 18.8% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 3,585,166 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 567,059 shares during the quarter. Valero Energy comprises approximately 1.0% of Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 15th biggest position. Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $484,105,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in VLO. International Private Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 3.4% in the second quarter. International Private Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,970 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $309,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. OmniStar Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. OmniStar Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,543 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $712,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Everhart Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Valero Energy by 5.5% during the second quarter. Everhart Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,366 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $214,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the period. St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC raised its stake in Valero Energy by 1.4% during the second quarter. St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC now owns 5,068 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $794,000 after buying an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Magnus Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 4.3% in the 2nd quarter. Magnus Financial Group LLC now owns 1,752 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $275,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the period. 78.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on VLO shares. Citigroup cut 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. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $175.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 4th. TD Cowen reduced their price objective 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. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $149.00 to $131.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered shares of Valero Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $169.00 to $123.00 in a report on Friday, September 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $155.86.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

Valero Energy stock opened at $141.20 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $136.32 and its 200 day simple moving average is $146.12. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. Valero Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $120.21 and a 1-year high of $184.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.70 billion, a PE ratio of 12.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.39.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The oil and gas company reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $32.88 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.04 billion. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 13.07% and a net margin of 2.74%. The firm’s revenue was down 14.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $7.49 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Valero Energy Co. will post 8.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

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 $1.07 dividend. This represents a $4.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.03%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.