Pitcairn Co. Decreases Stake in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Pitcairn Co. cut its holdings in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 17.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,328 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 1,973 shares during the quarter. Pitcairn Co.’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $1,260,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 0.5% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,287,269 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,389,090,000 after buying an additional 50,837 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in Valero Energy by 2.8% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 6,956,743 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,090,532,000 after purchasing an additional 192,397 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Valero Energy by 5.8% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,319,436 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $677,007,000 after purchasing an additional 237,347 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 18.8% in the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,585,166 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $484,105,000 after acquiring an additional 567,059 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc raised its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 3.0% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,809,355 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $440,394,000 after acquiring an additional 82,539 shares during the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Valero Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE VLO opened at $140.91 on Monday. Valero Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $120.21 and a 1-year high of $184.79. The business has a 50-day moving average of $136.59 and a 200-day moving average of $145.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The company has a market capitalization of $44.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.64, a PEG ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 1.39.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.16. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 13.07% and a net margin of 2.74%. The company had revenue of $32.88 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.04 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $7.49 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 14.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Valero Energy Co. will post 8.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be paid a $1.07 dividend. This represents a $4.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.39%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup cut their price target on Valero Energy from $192.00 to $176.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Piper Sandler cut Valero Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $169.00 to $123.00 in a report on Friday, September 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Valero Energy from $172.00 to $151.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on Valero Energy from $145.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on Valero Energy from $149.00 to $131.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $155.86.

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.