Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Raymond James Financial Analyst Says

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) had its price target upped by Raymond James Financial from $300.00 to $340.00 in a research report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “strong-buy” rating on the oil and gas company’s stock. Raymond James Financial’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 17.15% from the stock’s previous close.

VLO has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $222.00 to $289.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Valero Energy from $236.00 to $263.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Weiss Ratings cut Valero Energy from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Wednesday. Citigroup raised their target price on Valero Energy from $246.00 to $259.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Valero Energy from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 4th. One 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 assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Valero Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $250.53.

Valero Energy Price Performance

Shares of VLO stock traded up $9.55 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $290.24. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 336,302 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,473,302. Valero Energy has a 1-year low of $130.78 and a 1-year high of $294.00. The company has a market cap of $86.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.01, a PEG ratio of 0.35 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.58. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $253.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $224.99.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The oil and gas company reported $4.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.16 by $1.06. The business had revenue of $32.38 billion for 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 firm’s revenue was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.89 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Valero Energy will post 31.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Valero Energy

In other Valero Energy news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 7,500 shares of Valero Energy stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the senior vice president owned 19,742 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,294,212.14. The trade was a 27.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Valero Energy

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in VLO. V Square Quantitative Management LLC lifted its position in Valero Energy by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 6,670 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,648,000 after buying an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. M.E. Allison & CO. Inc. increased its position in Valero Energy by 5.8% in the 2nd quarter. M.E. Allison & CO. Inc. now owns 916 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $239,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC raised its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC now owns 975 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $159,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 32.9% during the fourth quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 206 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gradient Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 1.1% during the second quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 4,810 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,253,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.