Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) Shares Purchased by Northern Trust Corp

Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO - Free Report) by 15.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,850,859 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after purchasing an additional 529,513 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp owned approximately 1.22% of Valero Energy worth $472,077,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. World Investment Advisors raised its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 4,323 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $530,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the period. Segment Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Segment Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,947 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $606,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the period. Silver Coast Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Silver Coast Investments LLC now owns 5,070 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $622,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. now owns 4,687 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $575,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the period. Finally, Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators grew its holdings in Valero Energy by 6.6% during the 4th quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 1,514 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $186,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.69% of the company's stock.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

Shares of Valero Energy stock traded up $4.01 on Friday, reaching $118.89. 2,600,530 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,007,851. Valero Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $99.00 and a 1-year high of $167.78. The firm has a market cap of $37.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.57. The company's 50-day moving average is $121.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $129.04.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The oil and gas company reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.16 by ($0.27). The company had revenue of $28.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $28.54 billion. Valero Energy had a net margin of 2.13% and a return on equity of 9.58%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.82 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Valero Energy Co. will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $121.00 to $118.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Scotiabank lowered their price objective on Valero Energy from $156.00 to $136.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Tudor Pickering raised Valero Energy from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Raymond James dropped their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $165.00 to $155.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Valero Energy from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $115.00 to $127.00 in a research note on Monday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $149.80.

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.