Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Buys 4,383 Shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 102,703 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,383 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $13,868,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in VLO. International Private Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Valero Energy by 3.4% during the second quarter. International Private Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,970 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $309,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. OmniStar Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Valero Energy by 1.6% during the second quarter. OmniStar Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,543 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $712,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. Everhart Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Valero Energy by 5.5% during the second quarter. Everhart Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,366 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $214,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the period. St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC lifted its stake in Valero Energy by 1.4% during the second quarter. St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC now owns 5,068 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $794,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the period. Finally, Magnus Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in Valero Energy by 4.3% during the second quarter. Magnus Financial Group LLC now owns 1,752 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $275,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on VLO. TD Cowen cut their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $145.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Mizuho reduced their target price on Valero Energy from $175.00 to $171.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 16th. Bank of America initiated coverage on Valero Energy in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $150.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Valero Energy from $172.00 to $151.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Valero Energy in a report on Thursday, July 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $177.00 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $154.53.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

VLO stock opened at $132.31 on Tuesday. 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 company has a 50 day moving average price of $137.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $149.45. Valero Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $119.88 and a fifty-two week high of $184.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.39 billion, a PE ratio of 11.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 1.39.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The oil and gas company reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $32.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.04 billion. Valero Energy had a net margin of 2.74% and a return on equity of 13.01%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $7.49 EPS. Analysts forecast that Valero Energy Co. will post 9.6 EPS for the current year.

Valero Energy 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.