Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Purchases 1,396 Shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its position in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 4.6% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 31,652 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 1,396 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $4,115,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Marino Stram & Associates LLC increased its position in Valero Energy by 0.9% during 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 acquiring an additional 77 shares during the period. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY increased its position in Valero Energy by 0.5% during the third quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY now owns 16,630 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,357,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the period. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. increased its position in Valero Energy by 0.8% during the third quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 10,000 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,417,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the period. Arkadios Wealth Advisors increased its position in Valero Energy by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 1,690 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $220,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the period. Finally, Fulcrum Equity Management increased its position in Valero Energy by 1.0% during 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 period. Institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Valero Energy Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:VLO opened at $163.89 on Friday. Valero Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $104.18 and a 52 week high of $184.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.56. The company’s fifty day moving average is $158.54 and its 200-day moving average is $139.33. The company has a market capitalization of $54.49 billion, a PE ratio of 6.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.54.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The oil and gas company reported $3.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.95 by $0.60. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 31.62% and a net margin of 6.10%. The business had revenue of $35.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.76 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $8.45 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Valero Energy Co. will post 18.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on VLO shares. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $175.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $167.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $160.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $149.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $130.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $173.63.

About Valero Energy

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.