Wealth Alliance Advisory Group LLC Acquires Shares of 2,524 Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Wealth Alliance Advisory Group LLC bought a new position in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 2,524 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $341,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of VLO. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 6,956,743 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,090,532,000 after buying an additional 192,397 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Valero Energy by 5.8% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,319,436 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $677,007,000 after purchasing an additional 237,347 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 1.9% during the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,018,107 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $473,118,000 after purchasing an additional 56,989 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in shares of Valero Energy by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,809,355 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $440,394,000 after purchasing an additional 82,539 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in Valero Energy by 3.3% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,063,923 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $352,292,000 after buying an additional 65,632 shares in the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Valero Energy Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of VLO stock opened at $137.04 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $139.77 and a two-hundred day moving average of $151.58. The firm has a market cap of $43.90 billion, a PE ratio of 7.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.39. Valero Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $119.88 and a 1-year high of $184.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 1.48 and a quick ratio of 1.04.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The oil and gas company reported $2.71 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.60 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $34.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $32.97 billion. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 21.01% and a net margin of 4.25%. The firm’s revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $5.40 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Valero Energy Co. will post 9.6 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on VLO. StockNews.com cut Valero Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on Valero Energy from $175.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 4th. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Valero Energy in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $177.00 target price on the stock. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $165.00 to $146.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $175.00 to $171.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $158.60.

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.