Mizuho Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) Stock

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) had its target price boosted by Mizuho from $158.00 to $166.00 in a research report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the oil and gas company’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on VLO. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Valero Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $127.00 to $154.00 in a research note on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $160.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Tudor Pickering raised shares of Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $152.00 to $147.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their target price on Valero Energy from $144.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $151.93.

Valero Energy Stock Up 3.6%

Shares of VLO opened at $135.16 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.94, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.98. Valero Energy has a 52 week low of $99.00 and a 52 week high of $167.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.57. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $120.51 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $128.45.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The oil and gas company reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.16 by ($0.27). Valero Energy had a return on equity of 9.58% and a net margin of 2.13%. The firm had revenue of $28.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $28.54 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.82 earnings per share. Valero Energy’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Valero Energy will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 20th will be given a dividend of $1.13 per share. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 20th. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 159.72%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Valero Energy

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Valero Energy by 12.0% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 38,881,222 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $5,135,043,000 after acquiring an additional 4,155,522 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Valero Energy by 6.9% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,437,765 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,510,586,000 after acquiring an additional 736,533 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in Valero Energy by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 7,938,335 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $973,119,000 after acquiring an additional 429,252 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,871,229 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $844,775,000 after buying an additional 100,248 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Valero Energy in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $669,400,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

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.