Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) Shares Acquired by National Pension Service

National Pension Service boosted its position in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO - Free Report) by 2.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 880,801 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after purchasing an additional 24,657 shares during the period. National Pension Service owned approximately 0.26% of Valero Energy worth $114,504,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VLO. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 12,883.3% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,047,360 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $136,157,000 after acquiring an additional 1,039,293 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 94.4% during the 3rd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,429,706 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $202,585,000 after buying an additional 694,224 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 6.1% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 8,961,603 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $1,269,949,000 after buying an additional 517,068 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Valero Energy by 14.0% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,788,994 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $362,569,000 after acquiring an additional 342,218 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AustralianSuper Pty Ltd boosted its stake in Valero Energy by 36.4% during the 4th quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 938,771 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $122,040,000 after acquiring an additional 250,326 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.69% of the company's stock.

Valero Energy Price Performance

Shares of VLO traded up $0.40 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $157.07. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,766,505 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,245,021. Valero Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $105.49 and a fifty-two week high of $184.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.78, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.55. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $163.69 and a 200 day moving average price of $142.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.59 and a quick ratio of 1.10.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The oil and gas company reported $3.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.18 by $0.64. The company had revenue of $31.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $32.02 billion. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 24.82% and a net margin of 5.01%. The firm's revenue was down 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $8.27 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Valero Energy Co. will post 18.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Raymond James increased their target price on Valero Energy from $154.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Mizuho lowered shares of Valero Energy from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $150.00 to $173.00 in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Valero Energy from $171.00 to $184.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Barclays decreased their price objective on Valero Energy from $179.00 to $173.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on Valero Energy from $160.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $174.40.

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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