Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) Price Target Raised to $338.00

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) had its target price boosted by TD Cowen from $292.00 to $338.00 in a report published on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a hold rating on the oil and gas company’s stock.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Barclays raised their price objective on Valero Energy from $261.00 to $279.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Wolfe Research restated an “underperform” rating and issued a $203.00 price target on shares of Valero Energy in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Weiss Ratings downgraded Valero Energy from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $280.00 price objective on shares of Valero Energy in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $232.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, June 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $266.71.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

Shares of VLO opened at $304.63 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $90.45 billion, a PE ratio of 22.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.37 and a beta of 0.55. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $264.18 and a 200-day moving average of $233.91. Valero Energy has a one year low of $130.78 and a one year high of $320.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.15.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last issued its 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. The company had revenue of $32.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.38 billion. Valero Energy had a net margin of 3.37% and a return on equity of 15.94%. Valero Energy’s quarterly revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.89 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Valero Energy will post 32.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 31st will be given a $1.20 dividend. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 31st. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is presently 34.88%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 7,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.17, for a total value of $2,011,275.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 19,742 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,294,212.14. The trade was a 27.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Valero Energy

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Ballast Inc. lifted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 7.4% during the 2nd quarter. Ballast Inc. now owns 6,217 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,619,000 after acquiring an additional 430 shares during the period. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the second quarter worth $205,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Valero Energy in the second quarter valued at about $286,000. Tema ETFs LLC raised its stake in Valero Energy by 10.2% in the second quarter. Tema ETFs LLC now owns 6,270 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,633,000 after purchasing an additional 580 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HRC Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Valero Energy during the second quarter worth about $208,000. 78.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Stories Impacting Valero Energy

Here are the key news stories impacting Valero Energy this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Goldman Sachs raised its price target on Valero Energy (VLO) from $286 to $357 and kept a Buy rating, signaling meaningful upside versus the current share price.
• Positive Sentiment: Piper Sandler reaffirmed an Overweight rating and lifted its target to $329, also pointing to additional upside for the stock.
• Positive Sentiment: Several recent articles highlighted Valero as a strong momentum stock and a favorable pick versus Cenovus, which may be helping investor sentiment ahead of next week’s earnings report. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts expect earnings growth in Valero’s upcoming report, but one preview noted the setup does not look ideal for a likely earnings beat, suggesting expectations are already fairly balanced. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Broader energy-market headlines, including refinery and crude-flow shifts, may affect VLO’s operating backdrop, but they do not directly change Valero’s outlook on their own.

About Valero Energy

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.