Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) Shares Purchased by Verdence Capital Advisors LLC

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 20.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,626 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,318 shares during the period. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $991,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $534,892,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 12,883.3% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,047,360 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $136,157,000 after buying an additional 1,039,293 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in Valero Energy by 121.0% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,739,618 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $242,853,000 after buying an additional 952,518 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Valero Energy by 94.4% in the 3rd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,429,706 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $202,585,000 after purchasing an additional 694,224 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP bought a new stake in Valero Energy during the 2nd quarter worth $75,019,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VLO has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $149.00 to $179.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $138.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $175.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Valero Energy from $130.00 to $171.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $173.63.

Valero Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:VLO opened at $163.89 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $158.54 and its 200-day simple moving average is $139.40. Valero Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $104.18 and a 12 month high of $184.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.54.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The oil and gas company reported $3.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.95 by $0.60. The firm had revenue of $35.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.76 billion. Valero Energy had a net margin of 6.10% and a return on equity of 31.62%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $8.45 earnings per share. Valero Energy’s revenue was down 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Valero Energy Co. will post 18.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.