Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC Sells 1,282 Shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 11.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,359 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 1,282 shares during the period. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $1,270,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 123,356 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $14,751,000 after purchasing an additional 455 shares in the last quarter. Kieckhefer Group LLC bought a new position in Valero Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,226,000. Hudson Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Hudson Capital Management LLC now owns 31,792 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,897,000 after buying an additional 1,937 shares during the period. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the fourth quarter worth $274,000. Finally, Patten Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the fourth quarter worth $277,000. 78.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on VLO shares. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $149.00 to $144.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Mizuho reduced their price objective on Valero Energy from $165.00 to $158.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Valero Energy from $160.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Scotiabank reduced their price target on Valero Energy from $156.00 to $136.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Raymond James lowered their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $165.00 to $155.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have issued 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 $152.46.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

Shares of VLO opened at $112.41 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $124.45 and a 200-day moving average of $130.34. The company has a market cap of $35.41 billion, a PE ratio of 13.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.17. Valero Energy Co. has a one year low of $99.00 and a one year high of $168.85.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The oil and gas company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.50. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 9.58% and a net margin of 2.13%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Valero Energy Co. will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current year.

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.