Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) Lowered to “Hold” at Argus

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) was downgraded by analysts at Argus from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, MarketBeat reports.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on VLO. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Valero Energy from $177.00 to $178.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $160.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $138.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $190.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 29th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $130.00 to $171.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Valero Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $173.87.

Valero Energy Trading Up 4.8 %

NYSE VLO opened at $166.14 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $54.33 billion, a PE ratio of 8.23, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.55. Valero Energy has a 12 month low of $105.66 and a 12 month high of $184.79. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $165.89 and a 200-day moving average of $143.73. The company has a current ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The oil and gas company reported $3.82 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.18 by $0.64. The company had revenue of $31.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $32.02 billion. Valero Energy had a net margin of 5.01% and a return on equity of 24.82%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $8.27 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Valero Energy will post 18.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Kimberly S. Greene sold 720 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.12, for a total value of $113,846.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 13,314 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,105,209.68. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Valero Energy

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank bought a new position in Valero Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $570,428,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 12,883.3% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,047,360 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $136,157,000 after purchasing an additional 1,039,293 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 94.4% during the 3rd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,429,706 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $202,585,000 after purchasing an additional 694,224 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its position in Valero Energy by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 8,961,603 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,269,949,000 after purchasing an additional 517,068 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. lifted its stake in Valero Energy by 18.7% in the 4th quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. now owns 2,389,654 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $310,655,000 after purchasing an additional 376,449 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

About Valero Energy

Valero Energy Corporation manufactures, markets, and sells petroleum-based and low-carbon liquid transportation fuels and petrochemical products in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Latin America, Mexico, Peru, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Refining, Renewable Diesel, and Ethanol.