Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) Receives $253.06 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

Shares of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-one ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, nine have issued a hold recommendation, ten have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $253.0588.

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wolfe Research reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $203.00 target price on shares of Valero Energy in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Wall Street Zen upgraded Valero Energy from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 4th. Scotiabank upped their price target on Valero Energy from $178.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Raymond James Financial increased their price target on Valero Energy from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Valero Energy from $232.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, June 12th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 7,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 29th. The shares were 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 owned 19,742 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,294,212.14. The trade was a 27.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Valero Energy

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Whipplewood Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Valero Energy by 3,400.0% in the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 105 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Valero Energy during the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 134.0% in the first quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 117 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Torren Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Valero Energy in the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

NYSE VLO opened at $313.68 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $93.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.80, a PEG ratio of 0.37 and a beta of 0.55. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $260.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $230.82. 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 has a fifty-two week low of $130.78 and a fifty-two week high of $316.57.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The oil and gas company reported $4.22 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.16 by $1.06. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 15.94% and a net margin of 3.37%.The firm had revenue of $32.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.38 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.89 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Valero Energy will post 32.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 31st. Investors of record on Friday, July 31st will be paid a $1.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 31st. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.88%.

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.