Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) Price Target Raised to $450.00

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) had its price objective lifted by UBS Group from $355.00 to $450.00 in a report released on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the oil and gas company’s stock.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Barclays raised their target price on Valero Energy from $279.00 to $323.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Zacks Research raised Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Valero Energy from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Erste Group Bank lowered Valero Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 27th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price objective on Valero Energy from $289.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $301.76.

Valero Energy Stock Down 0.8%

Valero Energy stock opened at $385.92 on Tuesday. Valero Energy has a twelve month low of $155.29 and a twelve month high of $393.54. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $324.54 and a 200-day moving average price of $270.47. The company has a market capitalization of $111.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.01, a P/E/G ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The oil and gas company reported $12.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $44.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $39.47 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.28 EPS. Valero Energy’s quarterly revenue was up 48.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Valero Energy will post 41.15 EPS for the current year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 31st were given a dividend of $1.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 31st. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.92%.

Insider Activity at Valero Energy

In other news, SVP Eric Fisher sold 7,500 shares of the firm’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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 19,742 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,294,212.14. This trade represents a 27.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.36% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Valero Energy

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC increased its stake in Valero Energy by 57.6% during 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 during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 6,670 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,648,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the period. Bouchey Financial Group Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 4.6% in the 2nd quarter. Bouchey Financial Group Ltd. now owns 1,016 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $265,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the period. M.E. Allison & CO. Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 5.8% during the 2nd quarter. M.E. Allison & CO. Inc. now owns 916 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $239,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ridgecrest Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 5.0% during the 2nd quarter. Ridgecrest Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,054 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $275,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Valero Energy

Valero Energy Corporation is an international energy company headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. Its primary business is refining crude oil into transportation fuels and other products, including gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, asphalt, lubricants and petrochemical feedstocks.

Valero operates refineries and related facilities in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom, and markets its products through wholesale and commercial channels in North America and other international markets.