Praxis Investment Management Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Key Points

• Praxis Investment Management Inc. reduced its stake in Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) by 14.3% in Q2, following a sale of 3,120 shares, resulting in ownership of 18,770 shares valued at $2,523,000.
• Several hedge funds have recently adjusted their positions in Valero Energy, with a total of 78.69% of the stock owned by institutional investors.
• Analysts have varying opinions on Valero Energy, with Citigroup lowering its rating to "neutral" but several others increasing their target prices, resulting in an average target of $169.80 and a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."

Praxis Investment Management Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO - Free Report) by 14.3% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 18,770 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 3,120 shares during the quarter. Praxis Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $2,523,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in VLO. Wayfinding Financial LLC acquired a new position in Valero Energy during the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. Hoey Investments Inc. acquired a new position in Valero Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. GFG Capital LLC acquired a new position in Valero Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. increased its position in Valero Energy by 156.6% during the 1st quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 213 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hemington Wealth Management increased its position in Valero Energy by 39.9% during the 1st quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 333 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VLO has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup lowered Valero Energy from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their target price for the company from $134.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Valero Energy from $181.00 to $194.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, October 10th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Valero Energy from $135.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research report on Friday, September 19th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Valero Energy from $151.00 to $168.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Mizuho increased their price objective on Valero Energy from $166.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, September 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $169.80.

Valero Energy Stock Down 2.8%

Valero Energy stock opened at $156.40 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $48.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 65.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.05. Valero Energy Corporation has a 52 week low of $99.00 and a 52 week high of $178.43. The business's 50-day moving average price is $155.50 and its 200 day moving average price is $138.68. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38.

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

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