Creative Planning Raises Position in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Creative Planning raised its stake in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 3.8% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 84,573 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 3,097 shares during the quarter. Creative Planning’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $11,420,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in VLO. Wesbanco Bank Inc. increased its holdings in Valero Energy by 9.0% during the 3rd quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 6,473 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $874,000 after purchasing an additional 535 shares during the period. Stablepoint Partners LLC increased its holdings in Valero Energy by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Stablepoint Partners LLC now owns 11,807 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,594,000 after purchasing an additional 258 shares during the period. Sapient Capital LLC increased its holdings in Valero Energy by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Sapient Capital LLC now owns 11,314 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,528,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares during the period. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. increased its holdings in Valero Energy by 21.7% during the 3rd quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 521 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $70,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the period. Finally, Polianta Ltd purchased a new position in Valero Energy during the 3rd quarter worth $1,053,000. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Valero Energy from $172.00 to $151.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on Valero Energy from $149.00 to $131.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 16th. Piper Sandler cut Valero Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $169.00 to $123.00 in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Barclays dropped their target price on Valero Energy from $165.00 to $146.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Bank of America began coverage on Valero Energy in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $150.00 target price on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Valero Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $158.60.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

Shares of VLO stock opened at $135.71 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 1.48 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The business has a fifty day moving average of $139.21 and a 200 day moving average of $150.73. Valero Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $119.88 and a 1 year high of $184.79.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The oil and gas company reported $2.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.60 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $34.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $32.97 billion. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 21.01% and a net margin of 4.25%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $5.40 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Valero Energy Co. will post 9.6 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.