Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) Reaches New 1-Year High – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) reached a new 52-week high on Monday . The company traded as high as $258.60 and last traded at $259.7360, with a volume of 841779 shares. The stock had previously closed at $250.74.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wolfe Research reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $203.00 price objective on shares of Valero Energy in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Valero Energy from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on Valero Energy from $178.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Valero Energy from $236.00 to $263.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, Raymond James Financial raised their target price on Valero Energy from $215.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $237.94.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $76.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.80, a PEG ratio of 0.35 and a beta of 0.58. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $238.98 and its 200 day simple moving average is $201.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.58.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The oil and gas company reported $4.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.16 by $1.06. The company had revenue of $32.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.38 billion. Valero Energy had a net margin of 3.37% and a return on equity of 15.94%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.89 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Valero Energy Corporation will post 28.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be paid a dividend of $1.20 per share. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.88%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 8,311 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.69, for a total value of $1,892,331.59. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 42,242 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,618,080.98. The trade was a 16.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Valero Energy

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of VLO. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Valero Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,111,542,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership acquired a new position in Valero Energy in the third quarter worth approximately $275,239,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 2,635.7% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 950,527 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $154,736,000 after buying an additional 915,782 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 49.3% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,696,811 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $276,224,000 after acquiring an additional 560,116 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 7.5% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,668,210 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $922,728,000 after acquiring an additional 394,693 shares during the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.