Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Purchases 26,044 Shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its position in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 126.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 46,649 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 26,044 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Valero Energy were worth $6,299,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Claro Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 69.7% during the 3rd quarter. Claro Advisors LLC now owns 5,266 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $711,000 after buying an additional 2,162 shares in the last quarter. Concord Asset Management LLC VA grew its holdings in Valero Energy by 5.7% during the third quarter. Concord Asset Management LLC VA now owns 2,930 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $396,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares during the period. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Valero Energy in the third quarter valued at $28,000. GoalVest Advisory LLC grew its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 7.7% during the 3rd quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 7,024 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $948,000 after acquiring an additional 504 shares during the period. Finally, Sather Financial Group Inc bought a new position in shares of Valero Energy during the 3rd quarter worth $431,000. Institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Scotiabank cut their price target 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. TD Cowen cut their price target on Valero Energy from $145.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on Valero Energy from $149.00 to $131.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 16th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Valero Energy from $175.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Bank of America started coverage on Valero Energy in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $150.00 price objective on the stock. 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 given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $155.86.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

Shares of VLO opened at $140.87 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $44.60 billion, a PE ratio of 12.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.39. 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 has a 50-day moving average price of $136.59 and a 200-day moving average price of $145.97. Valero Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $120.21 and a 12-month 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, 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $7.49 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Valero Energy Co. will post 8.92 earnings per share 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $4.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.04%. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is 38.39%.

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.