Argyle Capital Management Inc. Sells 6,900 Shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Argyle Capital Management Inc. lessened its position in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 61.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,400 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 6,900 shares during the quarter. Argyle Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $572,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Valero Energy during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Valero Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Valero Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Valero Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Valero Energy during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $42,000. Institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Bank of America raised shares of Valero Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $156.00 to $210.00 in a research report on Friday, March 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $130.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. UBS Group upped their price objective 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. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $171.00 to $184.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Raymond James upped their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $154.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Valero Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $173.63.

Valero Energy Price Performance

NYSE:VLO traded down $1.33 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $165.80. 2,065,193 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,618,982. The company has a current ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $161.07 and its 200-day moving average is $140.76. The firm has a market cap of $55.13 billion, a PE ratio of 8.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.54. Valero Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $104.18 and a twelve month high of $184.79.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The oil and gas company reported $3.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 24.95%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $8.27 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Valero Energy Co. will post 18.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.