Pacer Advisors Inc. Sells 2,062,565 Shares of Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Pacer Advisors Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) by 98.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 34,745 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 2,062,565 shares during the quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $5,916,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Hoey Investments Inc. acquired a new stake in Valero Energy during the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. GFG Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in Valero Energy by 70.2% in the third quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 160 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its stake in Valero Energy by 1,277.8% in the second quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 248 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 230 shares during the period. Finally, Global Wealth Strategies & Associates acquired a new position in Valero Energy in the third quarter valued at about $34,000. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Valero Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE VLO opened at $165.49 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $171.82 and a 200 day moving average price of $157.32. The firm has a market cap of $50.47 billion, a PE ratio of 34.55, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a current ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. Valero Energy Corporation has a 1-year low of $99.00 and a 1-year high of $185.62.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The oil and gas company reported $3.66 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.15 by $0.51. The company had revenue of $32.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $28.80 billion. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 8.69% and a net margin of 1.21%.The company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.14 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Valero Energy Corporation will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 20th were given a dividend of $1.13 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 20th. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 94.36%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Valero Energy

In other news, CFO Jason W. Fraser sold 9,933 shares of Valero Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.02, for a total value of $1,728,540.66. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 134,196 shares in the company, valued at $23,352,787.92. This trade represents a 6.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.04% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on VLO. TD Cowen upped their price target on Valero Energy from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $201.00 to $223.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 14th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Valero Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 6th. Raymond James Financial restated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $195.00 price objective (up previously from $181.00) on shares of Valero Energy in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on Valero Energy from $169.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 17th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $183.20.

Valero Energy Company Profile

Valero Energy Corporation is a San Antonio, Texas–based integrated downstream energy company that manufactures and markets transportation fuels, petrochemical feedstocks and other industrial products. The company’s operations focus on refining crude oil into finished fuels such as gasoline, diesel and jet fuel, as well as producing asphalt and other refined product streams for commercial and industrial customers.

In addition to refining, Valero has significant operations in renewable fuels, including the production of ethanol and other biofuels, and it manages an extensive logistics network of pipelines, terminals, rail and marine assets to move feedstocks and finished products.