Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) Price Target Cut to $394.00 by Analysts at Jefferies Financial Group

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) had its price target cut by Jefferies Financial Group from $401.00 to $394.00 in a note issued to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “hold” rating on the oil and gas company’s stock. Jefferies Financial Group’s price objective points to a potential downside of 11.19% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on VLO. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. TD Cowen raised their price target on Valero Energy from $338.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Raymond James Financial lifted their price objective on Valero Energy from $350.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 14th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Valero Energy from $329.00 to $435.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, September 3rd. Finally, Erste Group Bank lowered Valero Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Valero Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $365.19.

Valero Energy Trading Up 4.6%

VLO traded up $19.54 on Thursday, hitting $443.64. The company had a trading volume of 2,563,147 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,342,763. The firm has a market cap of $127.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.41, a PEG ratio of 0.28 and a beta of 0.59. Valero Energy has a 1 year low of $155.29 and a 1 year high of $446.48. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $363.64 and its 200 day moving average price is $294.13. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The oil and gas company reported $12.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $39.47 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.28 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 48.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Valero Energy will post 49.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Valero Energy

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of VLO. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in Valero Energy by 11.4% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 5,033,310 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,243,630,000 after buying an additional 516,975 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 9.4% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,969,320 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $733,660,000 after acquiring an additional 254,604 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 18.4% in the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,842,339 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $702,285,000 after acquiring an additional 442,177 shares during the last quarter. Amundi raised its position in shares of Valero Energy by 45.3% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 2,584,976 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $638,695,000 after acquiring an additional 806,018 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in shares of Valero Energy by 33.9% during the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,058,341 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $536,074,000 after acquiring an additional 520,642 shares in the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Valero Energy News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Valero Energy this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Strong refining fundamentals support the rally. Valero’s heavy-crude processing advantage, robust crack spreads and resilient refining margins are viewed as supporting elevated earnings and cash generation, even with higher crude oil prices. Is it Worth Paying a Premium Price for Valero Energy Now?
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts see a favorable near-term earnings setup. BMO Capital maintained a Buy rating and set a $455 price target, citing strong refining margins, an attractive third-quarter earnings outlook and cash-generative capital allocation. Valero has also appeared on lists of stocks expected to beat quarterly earnings estimates. Valero Secures Buy Rating on Robust Refining Margins
• Positive Sentiment: Fuel-market policy changes may benefit refiners. Temporary permission to use dyed diesel on highways and a deferral of federal fuel taxes were reported alongside gains in Valero and other refining stocks, potentially supporting fuel demand and industry economics. VLO, MPC, SUN, PSX Stocks Climb Overnight
• Neutral Sentiment: Investor attention is elevated. Increased Zacks user interest and Valero’s inclusion in a Zacks Rank #1 growth-stock list may improve visibility, but these signals do not by themselves change the company’s fundamentals. Valero Energy Is Attracting Investor Attention
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation and normalization risks remain. Mizuho raised its price target to $434 but kept a Neutral rating, while other commentary argues that unusually strong profits may fade as geopolitical commodity shocks ease and crack spreads normalize. This could pressure future margins and returns after the recent surge. Valero’s Exceptional, Unwarranted Profitability Comes To An End

About Valero Energy

Valero Energy Corporation is an international petroleum refining, renewable fuels and marketing company headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. Founded in 1980, the company processes crude oil and other feedstocks into transportation fuels and other products used by commercial, industrial and consumer customers.

Valero’s refined products include gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, asphalt, lubricants and petrochemical feedstocks. The company also produces and markets ethanol and renewable diesel, including through its Diamond Green Diesel joint venture with Darling Ingredients.