Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. Invests $576,000 in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 4,432 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $576,000.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 8,961,603 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,269,949,000 after purchasing an additional 517,068 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 3.2% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,899,875 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $552,651,000 after buying an additional 121,057 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in 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 worth $362,569,000 after purchasing an additional 342,218 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 7.1% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,025,956 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $287,098,000 after buying an additional 133,689 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. now owns 2,013,205 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $285,291,000 after buying an additional 122,252 shares during the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Valero Energy Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of VLO stock traded up $0.40 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $157.07. 2,766,505 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,244,989. The stock has a market cap of $51.36 billion, a PE ratio of 7.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.55. 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 12 month low of $105.49 and a 12 month high of $184.79. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $163.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is $142.19.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The oil and gas company reported $3.82 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.18 by $0.64. The firm had revenue of $31.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $32.02 billion. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 24.82% and a net margin of 5.01%. The business’s revenue was down 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $8.27 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Valero Energy Co. will post 18.02 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Scotiabank upped their target price on Valero Energy from $138.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $130.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. UBS Group boosted their price target on Valero Energy from $167.00 to $197.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Valero Energy from $160.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Mizuho downgraded Valero Energy from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the company from $150.00 to $173.00 in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.