Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) Shares Acquired by Dark Forest Capital Management LP

Dark Forest Capital Management LP grew its position in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO - Free Report) by 352.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 9,010 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after purchasing an additional 7,017 shares during the quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP's holdings in Valero Energy were worth $1,105,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Valero Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $669,400,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 4,805,133 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Valero Energy in the fourth quarter worth approximately $132,469,000. Prudential Financial Inc. lifted its position 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 valued at $104,221,000 after acquiring an additional 522,233 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Valero Energy by 13.6% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 4,072,188 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $499,210,000 after purchasing an additional 487,022 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.69% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on VLO shares. UBS Group dropped their price target on Valero Energy from $160.00 to $150.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Scotiabank reduced their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $156.00 to $136.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $160.00 to $145.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $121.00 to $118.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Valero Energy from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $115.00 to $127.00 in a research note on Monday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $149.80.

Valero Energy Stock Up 0.7 %

NYSE:VLO traded up $0.76 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $115.51. The company's stock had a trading volume of 377,576 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,000,459. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.38 billion, a PE ratio of 13.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.17. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $122.65 and a 200-day moving average of $129.52. Valero Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $99.00 and a 1 year high of $168.85.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The oil and gas company reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.16 by ($0.27). The business had revenue of $28.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 period in the previous year, the business earned $3.82 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Valero Energy Co. will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current 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.