Wright Investors Service Inc. Sells 4,128 Shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Wright Investors Service Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 12.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 28,943 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 4,128 shares during the period. Valero Energy accounts for approximately 1.1% of Wright Investors Service Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Wright Investors Service Inc.’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $3,763,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Valero Energy by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 31,652 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $4,115,000 after acquiring an additional 1,396 shares during the period. Key Financial Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 27.2% in the fourth quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 467 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. boosted its position in Valero Energy by 56,398.4% during the 4th quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. now owns 70,623 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $9,181,000 after acquiring an additional 70,498 shares during the last quarter. Scissortail Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Valero Energy by 931.3% in the 4th quarter. Scissortail Wealth Management LLC now owns 22,369 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $3,095,000 after purchasing an additional 20,200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tyche Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Valero Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $678,000. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $167.00 to $197.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $161.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $177.00 to $178.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 1st. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $175.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $171.00 to $184.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Valero Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $173.63.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

Shares of Valero Energy stock traded down $3.03 on Thursday, reaching $164.25. The stock had a trading volume of 946,814 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,335,150. The stock has a market cap of $54.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.54. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $157.71 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $138.95. Valero Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $104.18 and a fifty-two week high of $184.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.56.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last announced 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. Valero Energy had a net margin of 6.10% and a return on equity of 31.62%. The firm had revenue of $35.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.76 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $8.45 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Valero Energy Co. will post 17.25 EPS for the current year.

Valero Energy 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.