Ledyard National Bank Invests $225,000 in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Ledyard National Bank bought a new position in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 1,732 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $225,000.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 6.1% during 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 in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 121,057 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake 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 valued at $362,569,000 after acquiring an additional 342,218 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 133,689 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. lifted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 122,252 shares in the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

Shares of VLO stock traded down $5.32 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $162.19. 1,196,912 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,250,499. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $53.92 billion, a PE ratio of 8.09, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.54. Valero Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $104.18 and a twelve month high of $184.79. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $161.63 and its 200-day moving average price is $141.05.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on VLO shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Valero Energy from $177.00 to $178.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Valero Energy from $161.00 to $198.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Valero Energy from $171.00 to $184.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Bank of America upgraded Valero Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $156.00 to $210.00 in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on Valero Energy from $179.00 to $173.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $174.40.

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.