Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) Shares Gap Down – Should You Sell?

Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) gapped down prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $258.67, but opened at $244.70. Valero Energy shares last traded at $242.5660, with a volume of 421,294 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $178.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Raymond James Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $215.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 25th. Zacks Research raised shares of Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $184.00 to $261.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $232.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $245.59.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $73.41 billion, a PE ratio of 17.98, a PEG ratio of 0.38 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $245.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $212.81.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The oil and gas company reported $4.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.16 by $1.06. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 15.94% and a net margin of 3.37%.The company had revenue of $32.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.38 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.89 earnings per share. Valero Energy’s revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Valero Energy Corporation will post 26.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, May 21st will be paid a $1.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 34.88%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Valero Energy

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 5.3% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 4,143,672 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $705,502,000 after purchasing an additional 209,597 shares in the last quarter. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. grew its holdings in Valero Energy by 33.5% during the 4th quarter. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. now owns 42,376 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $6,898,000 after acquiring an additional 10,634 shares in the last quarter. Friedenthal Financial acquired a new position in Valero Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $954,000. CWA Asset Management Group LLC grew its holdings in Valero Energy by 359.0% during the 4th quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 14,243 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,319,000 after acquiring an additional 11,140 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Munich Reinsurance Co Stock Corp in Munich acquired a new position in Valero Energy during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $3,249,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

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.