Sunbelt Securities Inc. Sells 1,344 Shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Sunbelt Securities Inc. cut its position in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 5.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 24,781 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 1,344 shares during the period. Sunbelt Securities Inc.’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $3,346,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. International Private Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 3.4% in the 2nd quarter. International Private Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,970 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $309,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. OmniStar Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 1.6% during the second 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 period. Everhart Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 5.5% in the second quarter. Everhart Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,366 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $214,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC increased its stake in Valero Energy by 1.4% in the 2nd 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 period. Finally, Magnus Financial Group LLC increased its stake in 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 worth $275,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on VLO shares. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $146.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price 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. Piper Sandler lowered Valero Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the company from $169.00 to $123.00 in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Mizuho lowered their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $175.00 to $171.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Finally, TD Cowen cut their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $145.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. 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 given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Valero Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $155.50.

Valero Energy Price Performance

Shares of VLO opened at $132.34 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $136.97 and its 200-day moving average price is $144.03. Valero Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $120.21 and a 1-year high of $184.79. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $41.90 billion, a PE ratio of 11.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.40.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The oil and gas company reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.16. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 13.07% and a net margin of 2.74%. The firm had revenue of $32.88 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.04 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $7.49 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 14.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Valero Energy Co. will post 8.89 EPS for the current year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be paid a dividend of $1.07 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $4.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.23%. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is currently 38.39%.

Valero Energy Company 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.