Van ECK Associates Corp Lowers Stock Holdings in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Van ECK Associates Corp lowered its position in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 35.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 423,739 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 235,928 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp owned about 0.12% of Valero Energy worth $55,086,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Valero Energy by 12,883.3% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,047,360 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $136,157,000 after purchasing an additional 1,039,293 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of 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 worth $202,585,000 after buying an additional 694,224 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its stake in shares of 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 valued at $1,269,949,000 after buying an additional 517,068 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 14.0% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,788,994 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $362,569,000 after acquiring an additional 342,218 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AustralianSuper Pty Ltd lifted its stake in Valero Energy by 36.4% in the fourth quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 938,771 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $122,040,000 after acquiring an additional 250,326 shares during the period. 78.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Valero Energy Stock Down 3.0 %

Shares of NYSE VLO traded down $4.99 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $162.52. The stock had a trading volume of 1,043,157 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,249,594. The business’s 50 day moving average is $161.63 and its 200-day moving average is $141.05. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. Valero Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $104.18 and a 52 week high of $184.79. The company has a market cap of $54.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.09, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.54.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on VLO shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $177.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $171.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Valero Energy from $160.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Barclays reduced their price target on Valero Energy from $179.00 to $173.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on Valero Energy from $167.00 to $197.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Valero Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $174.40.

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.