Bailard Inc. Raises Stake in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Bailard Inc. raised its position in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 1.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 55,566 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 552 shares during the quarter. Bailard Inc.’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $7,224,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in VLO. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Valero Energy during the third quarter valued at $28,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Valero Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Valero Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Valero Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Valero Energy during the third quarter valued at $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on VLO shares. Raymond James boosted their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $154.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $130.00 to $171.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Bank of America upgraded shares of Valero Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $156.00 to $210.00 in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Mizuho cut shares of Valero Energy from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $150.00 to $173.00 in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $138.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Valero Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $173.63.

Valero Energy Price Performance

VLO stock traded down $1.12 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $165.88. The stock had a trading volume of 1,701,316 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,286,720. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $160.04 and its 200 day simple moving average is $140.15. The company has a current ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The company has a market cap of $55.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.54. Valero Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $104.18 and a 52-week high of $184.79.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 25th. The oil and gas company reported $3.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.95 by $0.60. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 31.62% and a net margin of 6.10%. The company had revenue of $35.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.76 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $8.45 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Valero Energy Co. will post 18.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.