Wealthspire Advisors LLC Grows Stock Position in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Wealthspire Advisors LLC boosted its position in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 21.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 14,073 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 2,499 shares during the quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $1,829,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in VLO. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Valero Energy during the third quarter valued at $28,000. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Valero Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Valero Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in Valero Energy during the third quarter valued at $42,000. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on VLO. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Valero Energy from $160.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Valero Energy from $138.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Barclays dropped their price objective on Valero Energy from $179.00 to $173.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Valero Energy from $177.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Valero Energy from $130.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $174.40.

Valero Energy Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE VLO traded up $1.80 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $158.87. The company had a trading volume of 1,657,927 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,227,672. Valero Energy Co. has a one year low of $105.66 and a one year high of $184.79. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $164.05 and its 200-day moving average price is $142.29. The stock has a market cap of $51.95 billion, a PE ratio of 7.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.55.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The oil and gas company reported $3.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.18 by $0.64. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 24.82% and a net margin of 5.01%. The company had revenue of $31.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $32.02 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $8.27 EPS. Valero Energy’s revenue for the quarter was down 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Valero Energy Co. will post 18.02 earnings per share for the current year.

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.