Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $183.20.

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $216.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 10th. Mizuho reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $192.00 price objective (up from $190.00) on shares of Valero Energy in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Valero Energy in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $183.00 price target on shares of Valero Energy in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Finally, Bank of America reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $195.00 price objective (down from $198.00) on shares of Valero Energy in a research report on Thursday, December 11th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Valero Energy news, CFO Jason W. Fraser sold 9,933 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.02, for a total transaction of $1,728,540.66. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 134,196 shares in the company, valued at $23,352,787.92. This trade represents a 6.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Valero Energy

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 15.7% in the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 161,957 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $21,770,000 after buying an additional 21,997 shares during the last quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp raised its position in Valero Energy by 8.9% in the first quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 46,474 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $6,138,000 after acquiring an additional 3,790 shares during the period. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Valero Energy by 26.3% in the second quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 10,571 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,421,000 after acquiring an additional 2,199 shares during the last quarter. Caldwell Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Valero Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,666,000. Finally, 1832 Asset Management L.P. increased its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 20.5% during the 2nd quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,436,759 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $193,129,000 after purchasing an additional 244,675 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Valero Energy Stock Up 0.9%

NYSE:VLO opened at $165.49 on Tuesday. Valero Energy has a twelve month low of $99.00 and a twelve month high of $185.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $171.82 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $157.32.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The oil and gas company reported $3.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.15 by $0.51. The business had revenue of $32.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $28.80 billion. Valero Energy had a net margin of 1.21% and a return on equity of 8.69%. The firm’s revenue was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.14 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Valero Energy will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 18th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 20th were paid a $1.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 20th. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 94.36%.

Valero Energy Company Profile

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.