Valero Energy Corporation $VLO Shares Acquired by D.A. Davidson & CO.

Key Points

• D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its stake in Valero Energy Corporation by 97.9% in Q2, owning 137,772 shares valued at approximately $18.5 million.
• Analyst ratings for Valero Energy are mixed, with three firms issuing a strong buy rating and nine others recommending a buy, while the average price target stands at $173.27.
• Valero Energy reported earnings of $2.28 per share in its last quarterly update, exceeding expectations but indicating a 13.3% revenue decline year-over-year.

D.A. Davidson & CO. grew its stake in Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO - Free Report) by 97.9% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 137,772 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after acquiring an additional 68,151 shares during the quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO.'s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $18,519,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of VLO. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 17.3% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 10,265 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $1,356,000 after acquiring an additional 1,516 shares during the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 3.1% during the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 69,425 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $9,169,000 after purchasing an additional 2,065 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 3.7% during the 1st quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 127,919 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $16,894,000 after purchasing an additional 4,563 shares during the period. Archford Capital Strategies LLC grew its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 26.5% during the 1st quarter. Archford Capital Strategies LLC now owns 20,749 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $2,740,000 after purchasing an additional 4,342 shares during the period. Finally, Field & Main Bank grew its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Field & Main Bank now owns 7,982 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $1,054,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the period. 78.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on VLO. Raymond James Financial reiterated a "strong-buy" rating and set a $181.00 price target (up from $177.00) on shares of Valero Energy in a report on Friday, October 17th. Citigroup cut Valero Energy from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $134.00 to $150.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Barclays raised their target price on Valero Energy from $151.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. TD Cowen cut Valero Energy from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and raised their target price for the company from $118.00 to $140.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their target price on Valero Energy from $135.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Friday, September 19th. Three equities research 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $173.27.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

Shares of VLO opened at $161.87 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $157.56 and a 200-day simple moving average of $139.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.29 billion, a PE ratio of 67.45, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.05. Valero Energy Corporation has a 1 year low of $99.00 and a 1 year high of $178.43.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The oil and gas company reported $2.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.62. The business 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%.The business's quarterly revenue was down 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.71 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Valero Energy Corporation will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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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