J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. Buys 239 Shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 7.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,505 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 239 shares during the period. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $456,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Arkadios Wealth Advisors acquired a new stake in shares of Valero Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $228,000. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 23.3% in the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 22,569 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,198,000 after purchasing an additional 4,272 shares during the period. RFG Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Valero Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $293,000. Meridian Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,387 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,019,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, Riverview Trust Co raised its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 145.0% in the 3rd quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 691 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $98,000 after purchasing an additional 409 shares during the period. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

Shares of VLO opened at $167.51 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $55.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.54. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $159.52 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $139.96. Valero Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $104.18 and a 12 month high of $184.79.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The oil and gas company reported $3.55 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.95 by $0.60. The business had revenue of $35.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.76 billion. Valero Energy had a net margin of 6.10% and a return on equity of 31.62%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $8.45 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Valero Energy Co. will post 18.31 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Valero Energy from $175.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Valero Energy from $130.00 to $171.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Scotiabank lifted their target price on Valero Energy from $138.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Valero Energy from $161.00 to $198.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on Valero Energy from $167.00 to $197.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $173.63.

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.