Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Reduces Position in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 43.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 168,994 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 128,562 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $21,969,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 8,961,603 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,269,949,000 after purchasing an additional 517,068 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,899,875 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $552,651,000 after purchasing an additional 121,057 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of 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 valued at $362,569,000 after purchasing an additional 342,218 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 7.1% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,025,956 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $287,098,000 after purchasing an additional 133,689 shares during the period. Finally, Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. now owns 2,013,205 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $285,291,000 after purchasing an additional 122,252 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Valero Energy Trading Down 0.3 %

VLO stock traded down $0.50 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $156.84. 2,356,803 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,689,989. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $52.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.77, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.55. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $162.85 and a 200-day simple moving average of $141.50. Valero Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $104.18 and a 12-month high of $184.79.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The oil and gas company reported $3.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.18 by $0.64. The company had revenue of $31.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $32.02 billion. Valero Energy had a net margin of 5.01% and a return on equity of 24.82%. Valero Energy’s revenue was down 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $8.27 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Valero Energy Co. will post 18.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on VLO shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $171.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Valero Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $156.00 to $210.00 in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Raymond James upped their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $154.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $167.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, Mizuho cut shares of Valero Energy from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $150.00 to $173.00 in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $174.40.

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.