Russell Investments Group Ltd. Trims Stock Holdings in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lowered its position in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 6.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 652,003 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 41,636 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned approximately 0.19% of Valero Energy worth $84,769,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Valero Energy Price Performance

Shares of VLO stock traded down $1.33 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $165.80. The stock had a trading volume of 2,065,193 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,618,982. Valero Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $104.18 and a 12-month high of $184.79. The company has a market cap of $55.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.54. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $161.07 and a 200 day simple moving average of $140.68. The company has a current ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The oil and gas company reported $3.82 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.18 by $0.64. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 24.95% and a net margin of 5.01%. The business had revenue of $31.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $32.02 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $8.27 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Valero Energy Co. will post 18.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. 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 report on Friday, March 15th. Scotiabank upped their price objective on Valero Energy from $138.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Mizuho cut Valero Energy from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $150.00 to $173.00 in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Valero Energy from $177.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Valero Energy from $130.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. 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, Valero Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $173.63.

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.