Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) Given New $435.00 Price Target at Piper Sandler

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) had its price target lifted by equities research analysts at Piper Sandler from $329.00 to $435.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the oil and gas company’s stock. Piper Sandler’s price objective points to a potential upside of 17.35% from the company’s current price.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on VLO. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Valero Energy from $356.00 to $389.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Zacks Research raised shares of Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $338.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group set a $350.00 target price on Valero Energy in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Erste Group Bank downgraded Valero Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 27th. 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 issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $296.18.

Valero Energy Price Performance

VLO stock traded up $4.58 during trading on Thursday, hitting $370.67. 1,406,263 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,290,211. Valero Energy has a one year low of $153.20 and a one year high of $375.11. The stock has a market cap of $106.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.40, a P/E/G ratio of 0.41 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $310.70 and a 200 day simple moving average of $262.91.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The oil and gas company reported $12.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $10.11 by $2.43. Valero Energy had a net margin of 5.17% and a return on equity of 26.74%. The business had revenue of $44.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $39.47 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.28 earnings per share. Valero Energy’s revenue was up 48.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Valero Energy will post 40.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Valero Energy news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 19,742 shares in the company, valued at $5,294,212.14. This represents a 27.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.36% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Valero Energy

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Whipplewood Advisors LLC grew its position 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 valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the period. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC boosted its holdings in Valero Energy by 57.6% in the second quarter. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC now owns 104 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. JPL Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Valero Energy in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in shares of Valero Energy during the first quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Valued Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake 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 during the period. 78.69% of the stock is owned by 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.