Pacer Advisors Inc. Purchases 915,782 Shares of Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) by 2,635.7% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 950,527 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 915,782 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $154,736,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in Valero Energy by 5.0% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,273,517 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $897,869,000 after acquiring an additional 249,195 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in Valero Energy by 5.3% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 4,143,672 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $705,502,000 after acquiring an additional 209,597 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in Valero Energy by 13.3% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,929,599 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $328,534,000 after acquiring an additional 226,167 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its holdings in Valero Energy by 2.3% in the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,904,181 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $324,206,000 after acquiring an additional 43,237 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership bought a new position in Valero Energy in the third quarter worth approximately $275,239,000. Institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Zacks Research upgraded Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Wall Street Zen upgraded Valero Energy from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, April 4th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Valero Energy from $236.00 to $263.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Valero Energy from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 6th. Finally, Wolfe Research restated an “underperform” rating and issued a $203.00 target price on shares of Valero Energy in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $237.94.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 400 shares of Valero Energy stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.60, for a total transaction of $95,440.00. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Valero Energy Stock Down 1.3%

VLO stock opened at $243.87 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $237.94 and its 200-day moving average is $200.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $72.41 billion, a PE ratio of 17.72, a P/E/G ratio of 0.34 and a beta of 0.58. Valero Energy Corporation has a twelve month low of $125.10 and a twelve month high of $258.43. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The oil and gas company reported $4.22 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.16 by $1.06. The business had revenue of $32.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.38 billion. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 15.94% and a net margin of 3.37%.Valero Energy’s quarterly revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.89 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Valero Energy Corporation will post 28.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, May 21st will be issued a dividend of $1.20 per share. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.88%.

About Valero Energy

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.