Mengis Capital Management Inc. Decreases Stock Position in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Mengis Capital Management Inc. decreased its position in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 8.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,699 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 1,125 shares during the quarter. Mengis Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $1,651,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 worth $136,157,000 after purchasing an additional 1,039,293 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Valero Energy by 94.4% during the 3rd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,429,706 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $202,585,000 after buying an additional 694,224 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its position 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 worth $1,269,949,000 after acquiring an additional 517,068 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Finally, AustralianSuper Pty Ltd raised its position in shares of Valero Energy by 36.4% during the 4th quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 938,771 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $122,040,000 after acquiring an additional 250,326 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

Valero Energy stock traded up $3.11 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $167.00. 811,800 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,319,420. The stock has a market cap of $55.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.54. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $158.54 and its 200 day moving average is $139.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.56. Valero Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $104.18 and a 52-week high of $184.79.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VLO has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $149.00 to $179.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. 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. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $160.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Raymond James raised their price objective 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, Mizuho downgraded Valero Energy from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $150.00 to $173.00 in a report on Friday, March 22nd. One 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 MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $173.63.

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.