Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) Rating Lowered to “Hold” at Erste Group Bank

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) was downgraded by equities researchers at Erste Group Bank from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Thursday, MarketBeat Ratings reports.

VLO has been the topic of several other reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Valero Energy from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $329.00 price objective on shares of Valero Energy in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Zacks Research upgraded Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $289.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $286.00 to $357.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Valero Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $288.00.

Valero Energy Trading Down 1.3%

NYSE:VLO traded down $4.42 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $343.61. 465,646 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,305,896. The company has a market capitalization of $98.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.22 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The company’s 50 day moving average is $299.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is $257.39. Valero Energy has a twelve month low of $149.52 and a twelve month high of $353.00.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The oil and gas company reported $12.54 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $10.11 by $2.43. The company had revenue of $44.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $39.47 billion. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 26.74% and a net margin of 5.17%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 48.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.28 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Valero Energy will post 40.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Valero Energy

In other Valero Energy news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 7,500 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Valero Energy

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its position in shares of Valero Energy by 40,516.1% in the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 143,816,270 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $37,455,509,000 after purchasing an additional 143,462,183 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Valero Energy by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 18,177,191 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,959,065,000 after buying an additional 163,975 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Valero Energy by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,950,982 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,945,500,000 after buying an additional 63,919 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Valero Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $1,111,542,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,668,210 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $922,728,000 after buying an additional 394,693 shares in the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.