Anchor Investment Management LLC Has $1.60 Million Stock Position in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Anchor Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 13.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,820 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,370 shares during the period. Anchor Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $1,596,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Valero Energy by 4,908.0% in 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 in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Valero Energy by 11,318.9% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,076,349 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $145,339,000 after purchasing an additional 1,066,923 shares in the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund grew its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 900.2% during the third quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 631,095 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $85,217,000 after purchasing an additional 568,000 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 18.8% in the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,585,166 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $484,105,000 after acquiring an additional 567,059 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC bought a new position in Valero Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at $70,352,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VLO has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. TD Cowen dropped their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $145.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Bank of America assumed coverage on Valero Energy in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $150.00 target price for the company. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $175.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Scotiabank lowered their target price on Valero Energy from $173.00 to $141.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Mizuho decreased their price objective on Valero Energy from $175.00 to $171.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 16th. 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Valero Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $155.50.

Valero Energy Stock Down 2.7 %

VLO opened at $129.69 on Friday. 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 $136.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is $143.74. Valero Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $120.34 and a 1-year high of $184.79. The stock has a market cap of $41.06 billion, a PE ratio of 11.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.39.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The oil and gas company reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $32.88 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.04 billion. Valero Energy had a net margin of 2.74% and a return on equity of 13.07%. Valero Energy’s revenue was down 14.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $7.49 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Valero Energy Co. will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be issued a $1.07 dividend. This represents a $4.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.30%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 38.39%.

Valero Energy 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.