Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. Makes New Investment in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund purchased 285 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $38,000.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. EdgeRock Capital LLC purchased a new position in Valero Energy during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Lynx Investment Advisory acquired a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,000. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, First Foundation Advisors acquired a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the 1st quarter worth approximately $37,000. 78.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Valero Energy Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of VLO opened at $136.70 on Friday. Valero Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $119.88 and a 52-week high of $184.79. 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 firm’s fifty day moving average is $135.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $147.48. The stock has a market cap of $43.28 billion, a PE ratio of 12.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.51 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.16. Valero Energy had a net margin of 2.74% and a return on equity of 13.07%. The company had revenue of $32.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.04 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $7.49 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Valero Energy Co. will post 9.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be issued a dividend of $1.07 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $4.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.13%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 38.39%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $145.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $172.00 to $151.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Scotiabank dropped their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $173.00 to $141.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Piper Sandler cut shares of Valero Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $169.00 to $123.00 in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Valero Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. One 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average 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.