Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) Shares Bought by Kovack Advisors Inc.

Kovack Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 17.7% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 2,641 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 398 shares during the quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $343,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of VLO. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Valero Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Valero Energy in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Valero Energy during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Valero Energy Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of VLO opened at $167.53 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $161.63 and a 200 day moving average price of $141.05. Valero Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $104.18 and a 12-month high of $184.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $55.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.54.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The oil and gas company reported $3.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.18 by $0.64. The firm had revenue of $31.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $32.02 billion. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 24.82% and a net margin of 5.01%. Valero Energy’s revenue was down 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $8.27 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Valero Energy Co. will post 18.37 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on VLO. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $149.00 to $179.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. UBS Group lifted their price target on Valero Energy from $167.00 to $197.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Valero Energy from $161.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Valero Energy from $177.00 to $178.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Mizuho downgraded Valero Energy from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $150.00 to $173.00 in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $174.80.

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.