Sentry Investment Management LLC Sells 76 Shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Sentry Investment Management LLC cut its holdings in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 3.7% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,974 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 76 shares during the period. Sentry Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $257,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its holdings in Valero Energy by 29.0% during the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 198,664 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $25,826,000 after acquiring an additional 44,710 shares during the period. Bison Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 21.4% in the fourth quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 2,815 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $366,000 after buying an additional 496 shares during the period. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC grew its position in Valero Energy by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC now owns 10,265 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,420,000 after buying an additional 573 shares in the last quarter. Carnegie Capital Asset Management LLC grew its position in Valero Energy by 18.6% during the fourth quarter. Carnegie Capital Asset Management LLC now owns 3,908 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $508,000 after buying an additional 613 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vontobel Holding Ltd. grew its position in Valero Energy by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 19,564 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,543,000 after buying an additional 487 shares in the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on VLO. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Valero Energy from $130.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Scotiabank lifted their target price on Valero Energy from $138.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $161.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $177.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Raymond James raised their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $154.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Valero Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $172.40.

Valero Energy Price Performance

VLO opened at $169.00 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $157.18 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $138.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.56. Valero Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $104.18 and a 52 week high of $184.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $56.19 billion, a PE ratio of 6.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.54.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The oil and gas company reported $3.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.95 by $0.60. Valero Energy had a net margin of 6.10% and a return on equity of 31.62%. The company had revenue of $35.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.76 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $8.45 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Valero Energy Co. will post 17.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 4th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 1st were paid a $1.07 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, January 31st. This is a positive change from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. This represents a $4.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.53%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 17.31%.

About Valero Energy

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.