Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) Receives $245.59 Average Target Price from Analysts

Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-one research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $246.5294.

VLO has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 6th. Raymond James Financial raised their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $215.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 25th. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $276.00 to $292.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $236.00 to $263.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $220.00 to $292.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 31st.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $236.90, for a total value of $1,776,750.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 27,242 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,453,629.80. This trade represents a 21.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of VLO. Whipplewood Advisors LLC grew its position in Valero Energy by 3,400.0% in the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 105 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Valero Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in Valero Energy in the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in 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 Valero Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Valero Energy Trading Up 2.7%

Shares of VLO stock opened at $266.26 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $79.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.35, a PEG ratio of 0.37 and a beta of 0.55. Valero Energy has a 1-year low of $130.78 and a 1-year high of $272.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $246.76 and its 200-day simple moving average is $218.31.

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 for the quarter, topping 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 company’s revenue was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.89 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Valero Energy will post 27.45 EPS for the current year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, May 21st were issued a $1.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.88%.

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.