Van ECK Associates Corp Sells 235,928 Shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Van ECK Associates Corp lowered its stake in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 35.8% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 423,739 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 235,928 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $55,086,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VLO. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Valero Energy in the 3rd quarter worth $383,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the third quarter worth about $1,209,000. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 3.1% during the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 269,543 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $38,197,000 after acquiring an additional 8,081 shares during the last quarter. Vicus Capital increased its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 7.9% during the third quarter. Vicus Capital now owns 4,096 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $580,000 after acquiring an additional 301 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aua Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Valero Energy by 19.9% in the 3rd quarter. Aua Capital Management LLC now owns 2,194 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $311,000 after purchasing an additional 364 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Mizuho downgraded shares of Valero Energy from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $150.00 to $173.00 in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $179.00 to $173.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. TD Cowen reduced their target price on Valero Energy from $190.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. UBS Group boosted their price target on Valero Energy from $167.00 to $197.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded Valero Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $156.00 to $210.00 in a research note on Friday, March 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $174.40.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

Valero Energy stock traded down $4.99 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $162.52. The company had a trading volume of 1,043,157 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,249,594. The company’s fifty day moving average is $161.63 and its 200-day moving average is $141.05. Valero Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $104.18 and a 12-month high of $184.79. The company has a market capitalization of $54.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a current ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The oil and gas company reported $3.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.18 by $0.64. Valero Energy had a net margin of 5.01% and a return on equity of 24.82%. The business had revenue of $31.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $32.02 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $8.27 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Valero Energy Co. will post 18.37 EPS 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.