Balanced Wealth Group LLC Purchases Shares of 1,621 Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Balanced Wealth Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 1,621 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $211,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of VLO. Marino Stram & Associates LLC boosted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Marino Stram & Associates LLC now owns 8,384 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,090,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. grew its stake in Valero Energy by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 10,000 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,417,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the period. Arkadios Wealth Advisors lifted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 1,690 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $220,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Fulcrum Equity Management boosted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Fulcrum Equity Management now owns 8,806 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,145,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Finally, McIlrath & Eck LLC raised its stake in Valero Energy by 40.3% in the 3rd quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 303 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Valero Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE VLO traded up $0.40 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $157.07. 2,769,342 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,245,021. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.59 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $163.69 and a 200-day simple moving average of $142.19. Valero Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $105.49 and a fifty-two week high of $184.79. The firm has a market cap of $51.36 billion, a PE ratio of 7.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.55.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The oil and gas company reported $3.82 EPS 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 analysts’ expectations of $32.02 billion. Valero Energy had a net margin of 5.01% and a return on equity of 24.82%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $8.27 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Valero Energy Co. will post 18.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on VLO shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $177.00 to $178.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 1st. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $160.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Mizuho downgraded shares of Valero Energy from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $150.00 to $173.00 in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. UBS Group upped their price target on Valero Energy from $167.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on Valero Energy from $179.00 to $173.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. One equities research 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.