AJOVista LLC Purchases Shares of 873 Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

AJOVista LLC acquired a new position in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 873 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $113,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Morgan Stanley raised its stake in Valero Energy by 6.1% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 8,961,603 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,269,949,000 after buying an additional 517,068 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of Valero Energy by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,899,875 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $552,651,000 after acquiring an additional 121,057 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 14.0% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,788,994 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $362,569,000 after purchasing an additional 342,218 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Valero Energy by 7.1% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,025,956 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $287,098,000 after purchasing an additional 133,689 shares during the period. Finally, Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. now owns 2,013,205 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $285,291,000 after buying an additional 122,252 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on VLO. Mizuho downgraded shares of Valero Energy from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $150.00 to $173.00 in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $130.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Bank of America raised Valero Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $156.00 to $210.00 in a research report on Friday, March 15th. UBS Group increased their price target on Valero Energy from $167.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on Valero Energy from $179.00 to $173.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. One 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $174.40.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

VLO stock traded down $0.50 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $156.84. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,356,803 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,689,989. The stock has a market cap of $52.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.77, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.55. Valero Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $104.18 and a 1 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 stock’s 50-day moving average price is $163.15 and its 200 day moving average price is $141.69.

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 net margin of 5.01% and a return on equity of 24.82%. The firm had revenue of $31.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $32.02 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $8.27 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Valero Energy Co. will post 18.11 EPS for the current year.

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.