First Trust Advisors LP Boosts Holdings in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO - Free Report) by 11.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 481,526 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after acquiring an additional 48,130 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP owned approximately 0.15% of Valero Energy worth $59,030,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in VLO. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Valero Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $669,400,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Valero Energy by 16.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 34,725,700 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $4,257,024,000 after acquiring an additional 4,805,133 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Valero Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $132,469,000. Prudential Financial Inc. lifted its stake in Valero Energy by 159.3% in the 4th quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 850,161 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $104,221,000 after purchasing an additional 522,233 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Valero Energy by 13.6% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 4,072,188 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $499,210,000 after purchasing an additional 487,022 shares during the period. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Valero Energy Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of VLO traded up $0.76 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $114.63. The company had a trading volume of 529,205 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,002,909. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $123.10 and its 200 day moving average price is $129.71. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. Valero Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $99.00 and a 52-week high of $168.85. The firm has a market cap of $36.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.17.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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 firm had revenue of $28.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $28.54 billion. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 9.58% and a net margin of 2.13%. On average, research analysts predict that Valero Energy Co. will post 7.92 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on VLO shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Valero Energy from $160.00 to $159.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Tudor Pickering upgraded Valero Energy from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Scotiabank decreased their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $156.00 to $136.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Mizuho dropped their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $165.00 to $158.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $149.00 to $144.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 7th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $150.07.

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.