Gibraltar Capital Management Inc. Makes New Investment in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Gibraltar Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 5,350 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $696,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Valero Energy by 12,883.3% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,047,360 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $136,157,000 after acquiring an additional 1,039,293 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Valero Energy by 94.4% in the third quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,429,706 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $202,585,000 after buying an additional 694,224 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 6.1% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 8,961,603 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,269,949,000 after buying an additional 517,068 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 14.0% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,788,994 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $362,569,000 after purchasing an additional 342,218 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AustralianSuper Pty Ltd grew its holdings in Valero Energy by 36.4% in the 4th quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 938,771 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $122,040,000 after buying an additional 250,326 shares during the period. 78.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Valero Energy Price Performance

NYSE:VLO traded down $7.72 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $159.79. 4,143,435 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,287,796. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $162.12 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $141.29. 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 company has a market capitalization of $53.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.54. Valero Energy Co. has a one year low of $104.18 and a one year 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, beating the consensus estimate of $3.18 by $0.64. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 24.82% and a net margin of 5.01%. The business had revenue of $31.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $32.02 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $8.27 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Valero Energy Co. will post 18.37 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on VLO. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $167.00 to $197.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on Valero Energy from $138.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Citigroup upped their target price on Valero Energy from $160.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Raymond James raised their price target on Valero Energy from $154.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Valero Energy from $161.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently 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.