Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund Buys 568,000 Shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund raised its holdings in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 900.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 631,095 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 568,000 shares during the quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund owned approximately 0.20% of Valero Energy worth $85,217,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Valero Energy during the second quarter valued at about $15,945,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in shares of Valero Energy by 1.8% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,293,589 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $174,673,000 after purchasing an additional 22,571 shares in the last quarter. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Valero Energy during the second quarter valued at about $535,000. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV grew its position in shares of Valero Energy by 23.7% during the second quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 42,716 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $6,696,000 after purchasing an additional 8,198 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Valero Energy by 66.0% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,781 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,377,000 after purchasing an additional 3,492 shares in the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Mizuho cut their price objective on Valero Energy from $175.00 to $171.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Piper Sandler lowered Valero Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $169.00 to $123.00 in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Citigroup dropped their price target on Valero Energy from $192.00 to $176.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Bank of America initiated coverage on Valero Energy in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $150.00 price target for the company. Finally, Scotiabank dropped their price target on Valero Energy from $173.00 to $141.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Valero Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $155.86.

Valero Energy Price Performance

NYSE VLO opened at $139.82 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $136.79 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $145.56. 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 12-month low of $120.21 and a 12-month high of $184.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.54, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.39.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The oil and gas company reported $1.14 earnings per share (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 analyst estimates of $31.04 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $7.49 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Valero Energy Co. will post 8.92 EPS 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. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be issued a dividend of $1.07 per share. This represents a $4.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.