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

Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO - Free Report) by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 132,451 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after purchasing an additional 6,844 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC's holdings in Valero Energy were worth $18,664,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VLO. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Valero Energy by 4,908.0% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,850,526 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $384,907,000 after buying an additional 2,793,607 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 11,318.9% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,076,349 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $145,339,000 after purchasing an additional 1,066,923 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund increased its position in shares of Valero Energy by 900.2% during the 3rd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 631,095 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $85,217,000 after purchasing an additional 568,000 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 18.8% in the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,585,166 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $484,105,000 after purchasing an additional 567,059 shares during the period. Finally, Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Valero Energy during the third quarter valued at approximately $70,352,000. Institutional investors own 78.69% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on VLO. BMO Capital Markets dropped 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 note on Friday, October 4th. TD Cowen lowered their target price 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. Barclays reduced their price target on Valero Energy from $146.00 to $140.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Scotiabank lowered their price objective on Valero Energy from $173.00 to $141.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $155.50.

Valero Energy Price Performance

NYSE VLO traded down $0.23 on Friday, reaching $129.45. The company had a trading volume of 825,306 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,897,556. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.98 billion, a PE ratio of 11.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.39. Valero Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $124.02 and a 12 month high of $184.79. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $136.53 and its 200 day moving average price is $143.65.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO - Get Free Report) last announced 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. The firm had revenue of $32.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $31.04 billion. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 13.07% and a net margin of 2.74%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $7.49 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Valero Energy Co. will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be given a $1.07 dividend. This represents a $4.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. Valero Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.