Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) Shares Sold by Alaska Permanent Fund Corp

Alaska Permanent Fund Corp trimmed its position in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 2.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 32,508 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 797 shares during the period. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $4,226,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Valero Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $42,000. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VLO has been the subject of several recent research reports. Mizuho cut Valero Energy from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $150.00 to $173.00 in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Valero Energy from $171.00 to $184.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Valero Energy from $130.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Bank of America raised Valero Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $156.00 to $210.00 in a report on Friday, March 15th. Finally, Raymond James boosted their target price on Valero Energy from $154.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $173.63.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

VLO traded down $0.54 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $167.00. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,338,928 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,307,412. Valero Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $104.18 and a fifty-two week high of $184.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $55.52 billion, a PE ratio of 6.74, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $159.52 and a 200 day simple moving average of $139.96. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The oil and gas company reported $3.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.95 by $0.60. The company had revenue of $35.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.76 billion. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 31.62% and a net margin of 6.10%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $8.45 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Valero Energy Co. will post 18.31 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.