BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp Lowers Stake in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp lessened its holdings in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 13.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 54,571 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 8,541 shares during the period. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $7,369,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of VLO. Edgestream Partners L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Valero Energy during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,299,000. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its position in Valero Energy by 7.5% during the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 89,762 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $12,121,000 after acquiring an additional 6,278 shares during the period. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp lifted its holdings in Valero Energy by 9.1% during the third quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 21,050 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,842,000 after purchasing an additional 1,757 shares in the last quarter. Centric Wealth Management grew its position in shares of Valero Energy by 3.8% in the third quarter. Centric Wealth Management now owns 16,114 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,235,000 after purchasing an additional 585 shares during the period. Finally, Providence Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Valero Energy by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,784 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,169,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on VLO. Piper Sandler lowered Valero Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $169.00 to $123.00 in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Mizuho reduced their price objective on Valero Energy from $175.00 to $171.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Scotiabank decreased their price objective on Valero Energy from $173.00 to $141.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Valero Energy from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $172.00 to $165.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $175.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $155.86.

Valero Energy Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of VLO opened at $139.08 on Monday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $136.92 and its 200 day moving average price is $145.19. Valero Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $120.21 and a 12-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 market cap of $44.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.40.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $32.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.04 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $7.49 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Valero Energy Co. will post 8.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be paid 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 dividend yield of 3.08%. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is presently 38.39%.

About Valero Energy

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.