Loomis Sayles & Co. L P Sells 110 Shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Loomis Sayles & Co. L P decreased its position in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 12.6% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 766 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 110 shares during the quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $103,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Valero Energy by 0.5% during 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 purchasing an additional 50,837 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 6,956,743 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,090,532,000 after buying an additional 192,397 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Valero Energy by 5.8% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,319,436 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $677,007,000 after buying an additional 237,347 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings 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 valued at $484,105,000 after acquiring an additional 567,059 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc grew its position in 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 in the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Valero Energy Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of Valero Energy stock opened at $138.56 on Friday. 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 company has a market cap of $43.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.43, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.39. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $136.83 and its 200-day moving average price is $145.47. Valero Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $120.21 and a 52-week high of $184.79.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The oil and gas company reported $1.14 earnings per share (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 business had revenue of $32.88 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.04 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $7.49 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Valero Energy Co. will post 8.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be given a $1.07 dividend. This represents a $4.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.09%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is 38.39%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on VLO. Scotiabank lowered their price objective 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. Piper Sandler downgraded Valero Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $169.00 to $123.00 in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $192.00 to $176.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. BMO Capital Markets lowered 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Valero Energy from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and cut their price target for the company from $172.00 to $165.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.