LifeWealth Investments LLC Purchases New Holdings in Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Key Points

• LifeWealth Investments LLC has acquired a new stake in Valero Energy Corporation, purchasing 3,123 shares valued at approximately $420,000 in the second quarter.
• Notable hedge funds, including Price T Rowe Associates and Vanguard Group, have significantly increased their holdings in Valero Energy, with institutional investors holding 78.69% of the stock.
• Valero has received varied analyst ratings recently, with Morgan Stanley downgrading its rating while Jefferies Financial Group and Bank of America raised their price targets, reflecting a consensus target price of $173.27.

LifeWealth Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 3,123 shares of the oil and gas company's stock, valued at approximately $420,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in VLO. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 276.9% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 10,795,436 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $1,425,754,000 after buying an additional 7,931,018 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 12.0% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 38,881,222 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $5,135,043,000 after buying an additional 4,155,522 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Valero Energy in the first quarter valued at approximately $529,864,000. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 34.1% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,905,145 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $647,823,000 after buying an additional 1,247,196 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 6.9% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,437,765 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $1,510,586,000 after buying an additional 736,533 shares during the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on VLO shares. Morgan Stanley cut Valero Energy from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $160.00 to $175.00 in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Valero Energy from $181.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, October 10th. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on Valero Energy in a report on Friday, October 17th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $216.00 price target for the company. Bank of America raised Valero Energy from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $152.00 to $179.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Finally, TD Cowen lowered Valero Energy from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $118.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $173.27.

Valero Energy Price Performance

Valero Energy stock opened at $161.87 on Thursday. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $157.56 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $139.72. Valero Energy Corporation has a one year low of $99.00 and a one year high of $178.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 1.62 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The firm has a market cap of $50.29 billion, a PE ratio of 67.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.05.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The oil and gas company reported $2.28 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.62. The company had revenue of $29.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $27 billion. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 5.76% and a net margin of 0.62%.Valero Energy's revenue was down 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.71 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Valero Energy Corporation will post 7.92 EPS 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.

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