Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. Sells 16,037 Shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. cut its stake in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO - Free Report) by 5.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 266,859 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 16,037 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. owned 0.08% of Valero Energy worth $45,550,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Paradiem LLC increased its position in shares of Valero Energy by 11.1% in the first quarter. Paradiem LLC now owns 62,653 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $10,694,000 after purchasing an additional 6,274 shares during the last quarter. Bristlecone Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Valero Energy by 2.1% in the first quarter. Bristlecone Advisors LLC now owns 17,388 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $2,968,000 after purchasing an additional 365 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC increased its position in shares of Valero Energy by 40.2% in the first quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 2,796 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $477,000 after purchasing an additional 802 shares during the last quarter. Rovin Capital UT ADV increased its position in shares of Valero Energy by 3.5% in the first quarter. Rovin Capital UT ADV now owns 1,968 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $336,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nilsine Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Valero Energy by 5.3% in the first quarter. Nilsine Partners LLC now owns 2,163 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $369,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $179.00 to $173.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $130.00 to $171.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $171.00 to $184.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $138.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $190.00 to $185.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. One research 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 company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $174.40.

Valero Energy Stock Up 1.1 %

VLO traded up $1.70 during trading on Thursday, reaching $157.36. The stock had a trading volume of 2,414,672 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,285,677. The stock's 50 day moving average is $162.85 and its two-hundred day moving average is $141.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The company has a market capitalization of $52.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.55. Valero Energy Co. has a one year low of $104.18 and a one year high of $184.79.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The oil and gas company reported $3.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.18 by $0.64. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 24.82% and a net margin of 5.01%. The firm had revenue of $31.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $32.02 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $8.27 earnings per share. The company's revenue was down 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Valero Energy Co. will post 18.3 earnings per share for the current 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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