Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the fifteen analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $152.13.

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Valero Energy from $150.00 to $159.00 in a report on Friday, August 4th. Mizuho increased their price target on Valero Energy from $152.00 to $162.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 16th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $139.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $172.00 to $171.00 in a report on Friday, July 7th. Finally, Tudor Pickering upgraded shares of Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $145.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, July 31st.

Insider Buying and Selling at Valero Energy

In other Valero Energy news, Director Joseph W. Gorder sold 75,580 shares of Valero Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.99, for a total transaction of $10,278,124.20. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 621,872 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $84,568,373.28. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. boosted its position in Valero Energy by 10.1% in the fourth quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 24,625 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,124,000 after buying an additional 2,268 shares in the last quarter. Walkner Condon Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Valero Energy during the 1st quarter valued at $216,000. Spire Wealth Management raised its position in Valero Energy by 64.7% in the 1st quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 2,785 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $389,000 after purchasing an additional 1,094 shares during the last quarter. PFG Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the first quarter worth $318,000. Finally, AMG National Trust Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Valero Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $212,000. 77.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Valero Energy Trading Up 2.9 %

Valero Energy stock opened at $133.61 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. Valero Energy has a 12 month low of $97.73 and a 12 month high of $150.39. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $124.67 and its 200-day simple moving average is $123.27. The stock has a market cap of $47.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.60, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.66.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 27th. The oil and gas company reported $5.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.08 by $0.32. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 42.31% and a net margin of 6.96%. The company had revenue of $34.51 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.37 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $11.36 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 33.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Valero Energy will post 23.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 3rd will be given a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 2nd. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.05%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 14.05%.

About Valero Energy

Valero Energy Corporation manufactures, markets, and sells transportation fuels and petrochemical products in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Latin America, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Refining, Renewable Diesel, and Ethanol. The company produces California Reformulated Gasoline Blendstock for Oxygenate Blending and Conventional Blendstock for Oxygenate Blending gasolines, CARB diesel, diesel, jet fuel, and asphalt; aromatics; and sulfur crude oils.