Sanctuary Advisors LLC Purchases 6,844 Shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its position in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 5.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 132,451 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 6,844 shares during the quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $18,664,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. ORG Partners LLC bought a new stake in Valero Energy in the second quarter worth $87,000. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. increased its stake in Valero Energy by 3.9% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 19,449 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $3,049,000 after purchasing an additional 732 shares during the period. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA lifted its position in Valero Energy by 21.4% in the second quarter. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA now owns 425 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 4.4% during the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 263,004 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $41,229,000 after purchasing an additional 11,078 shares during the period. Finally, Triad Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the second quarter worth approximately $39,000. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

Shares of VLO stock opened at $129.69 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.57. The company has a market capitalization of $41.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.39. Valero Energy Co. has a one year low of $120.34 and a one year high of $184.79. The company’s 50-day moving average is $136.53 and its 200 day moving average is $143.65.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The oil and gas company reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.16. Valero Energy had a net margin of 2.74% and a return on equity of 13.07%. The company had revenue of $32.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.04 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $7.49 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Valero Energy Co. will post 8.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The firm 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 dividend of $1.07 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $4.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.30%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.39%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $175.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 4th. Piper Sandler downgraded shares of Valero Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $169.00 to $123.00 in a research report on Friday, September 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $149.00 to $131.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 16th. TD Cowen cut their price objective on Valero Energy from $145.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Scotiabank lowered their target price on Valero Energy from $173.00 to $141.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. One equities research 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, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $155.50.

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.