Van ECK Associates Corp Sells 129,648 Shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Van ECK Associates Corp reduced its stake in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 38.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 204,393 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 129,648 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp owned approximately 0.06% of Valero Energy worth $27,162,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. EdgeRock Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Valero Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Lynx Investment Advisory bought a new stake in shares of Valero Energy in the second quarter valued at about $29,000. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new stake in Valero Energy in the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Valero Energy in the first quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA bought a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at $34,000. 78.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Valero Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:VLO opened at $129.95 on Tuesday. Valero Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $119.88 and a 1-year high of $184.79. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $136.43 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $148.06. The stock has a market cap of $41.63 billion, a PE ratio of 11.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.39.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $32.88 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.04 billion. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 13.07% and a net margin of 2.74%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $7.49 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Valero Energy Co. will post 9.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be given a dividend of $1.07 per share. This represents a $4.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.29%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 38.39%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on VLO. Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $175.00 to $171.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $192.00 to $176.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Piper Sandler cut Valero Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $169.00 to $123.00 in a report on Friday, September 20th. StockNews.com lowered Valero Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $165.00 to $146.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $156.29.

Valero Energy Company 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.