Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) Shares Purchased by Bahl & Gaynor Inc.

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. boosted its holdings in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 1.6% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 22,046 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 338 shares during the quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc.’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $2,866,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. O Brien Greene & Co. Inc increased its stake in Valero Energy by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. O Brien Greene & Co. Inc now owns 51,779 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $6,731,000 after acquiring an additional 662 shares during the last quarter. Semanteon Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Valero Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $1,233,000. Syon Capital LLC increased its stake in Valero Energy by 41.3% during the fourth quarter. Syon Capital LLC now owns 13,651 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,775,000 after acquiring an additional 3,991 shares during the last quarter. Bailard Inc. increased its stake in Valero Energy by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 55,566 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $7,224,000 after acquiring an additional 552 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Valero Energy by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 8,662 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,126,000 after acquiring an additional 394 shares during the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VLO has been the subject of several research analyst reports. UBS Group upped their price target on Valero Energy from $167.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. TD Cowen increased their target price on Valero Energy from $175.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Valero Energy from $177.00 to $178.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Mizuho lowered Valero Energy from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the company from $150.00 to $173.00 in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on Valero Energy from $160.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $173.63.

Valero Energy Trading Down 0.8 %

NYSE:VLO opened at $165.80 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The business’s 50 day moving average is $161.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $140.61. 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 $55.13 billion, a PE ratio of 8.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.54.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The oil and gas company reported $3.82 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $31.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $32.02 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $8.27 EPS. Valero Energy’s quarterly revenue was down 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Valero Energy Co. will post 18.35 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.