Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) Holdings Lowered by Argyle Capital Management Inc.

Argyle Capital Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 61.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,400 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 6,900 shares during the period. Argyle Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $572,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of VLO. Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. increased its position in Valero Energy by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. now owns 4,981 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $648,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG increased its position in Valero Energy by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,005,346 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $142,468,000 after purchasing an additional 55,351 shares during the last quarter. Stiles Financial Services Inc increased its position in Valero Energy by 49.7% in the 4th quarter. Stiles Financial Services Inc now owns 7,615 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $991,000 after purchasing an additional 2,529 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in Valero Energy by 14.0% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,788,994 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $362,569,000 after purchasing an additional 342,218 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in Valero Energy by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 645,726 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $83,867,000 after purchasing an additional 18,575 shares during the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

Valero Energy stock traded down $1.33 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $165.80. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,065,193 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,618,982. Valero Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $104.18 and a 12-month high of $184.79. The company has a market capitalization of $55.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.21, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.56. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $161.07 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $140.76.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The oil and gas company reported $3.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.18 by $0.64. Valero Energy had a net margin of 5.01% and a return on equity of 24.95%. The business had revenue of $31.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $32.02 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $8.27 EPS. Valero Energy’s revenue was down 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Valero Energy Co. will post 18.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VLO has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Valero Energy from $175.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Valero Energy from $167.00 to $197.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Valero Energy from $171.00 to $184.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Barclays increased their price objective on Valero Energy from $149.00 to $179.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Mizuho lowered Valero Energy from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $150.00 to $173.00 in a report on Friday, March 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Valero Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $173.63.

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.