Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) has earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-one brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $243.6471.

VLO has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Valero Energy from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $203.00 to $237.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $236.00 to $263.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Raymond James Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $215.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $255.00 to $276.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Valero Energy news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.60, for a total value of $95,440.00. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.36% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Valero Energy

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Woodline Partners LP lifted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 40.7% in the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 26,747 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $3,532,000 after buying an additional 7,735 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 13.0% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,929 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $259,000 after buying an additional 222 shares during the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL acquired a new stake in shares of Valero Energy in the second quarter worth $528,000. Sei Investments Co. lifted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 11.3% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 269,043 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $36,165,000 after buying an additional 27,291 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina lifted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 0.9% in the second quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 145,810 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $19,600,000 after buying an additional 1,338 shares during the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Valero Energy Stock Up 2.0%

VLO stock opened at $245.10 on Friday. Valero Energy has a 52-week low of $125.10 and a 52-week high of $263.75. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $242.67 and its 200-day simple moving average is $206.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $72.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.81, a P/E/G ratio of 0.35 and a beta of 0.58.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The oil and gas company reported $4.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.16 by $1.06. Valero Energy had a net margin of 3.37% and a return on equity of 15.94%. The business had revenue of $32.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.38 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.89 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Valero Energy will post 26.51 EPS for the current year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, May 21st will be given a dividend of $1.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is presently 34.88%.

Valero Energy Company Profile

Valero Energy Corporation is a San Antonio, Texas–based integrated downstream energy company that manufactures and markets transportation fuels, petrochemical feedstocks and other industrial products. The company’s operations focus on refining crude oil into finished fuels such as gasoline, diesel and jet fuel, as well as producing asphalt and other refined product streams for commercial and industrial customers.

In addition to refining, Valero has significant operations in renewable fuels, including the production of ethanol and other biofuels, and it manages an extensive logistics network of pipelines, terminals, rail and marine assets to move feedstocks and finished products.