Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) Given New $290.00 Price Target at Raymond James Financial

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) had its target price hoisted by Raymond James Financial from $215.00 to $290.00 in a report published on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a strong-buy rating on the oil and gas company’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $203.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $190.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 7th. Argus upgraded shares of Valero Energy to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Valero Energy from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Valero Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $199.53.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

Shares of VLO opened at $234.47 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.69, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.64 and a quick ratio of 1.11. Valero Energy has a one year low of $99.00 and a one year high of $247.73. The business has a fifty day moving average of $206.56 and a 200 day moving average of $182.55.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The oil and gas company reported $3.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.27 by $0.55. The company had revenue of $30.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $28.20 billion. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 12.35% and a net margin of 1.91%.Valero Energy’s revenue was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.64 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Valero Energy will post 7.92 EPS for the current year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 5th were given a dividend of $1.20 per share. This is an increase from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.13. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 5th. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.83%.

Insider Transactions at Valero Energy

In related news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 400 shares of Valero Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.60, for a total transaction of $95,440.00. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Valero Energy

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of VLO. Woodline Partners LP raised its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 40.7% during the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 26,747 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $3,532,000 after acquiring an additional 7,735 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 13.0% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,929 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $259,000 after acquiring an additional 222 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 162.5% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 523,692 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $70,395,000 after purchasing an additional 324,174 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the second quarter valued at $865,000. Finally, CreativeOne Wealth LLC increased its position in Valero Energy by 10.4% in the second quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 6,234 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $838,000 after purchasing an additional 588 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Valero Energy News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Raymond James raised its price target sharply to $290 and kept a Strong Buy rating, providing a powerful upside catalyst and institutional endorsement for VLO’s earnings and dividend outlook. Why Raymond James Is Calling for a $290 Price Tag on Valero (VLO)
• Positive Sentiment: Refiners are benefiting from a wider crack spread amid geopolitical-driven oil volatility, which supports Valero’s margins and has helped energy stocks rally this week. That sector tailwind supports the case for recovery once outages are resolved. Energy Stocks Surge on Oil Spike: Buy, Hold, or Take Profits?
• Neutral Sentiment: Sources say Valero is preparing to restart the Port Arthur refinery this week, which could limit the duration of production losses if the restart proceeds without issues. Valero prepares restart of Port Arthur, Texas oil refinery after blast, sources say
• Neutral Sentiment: Local law enforcement says there is no evidence the blast was intentional, which reduces the likelihood of a prolonged criminal investigation or deliberate-attack premium in the stock. No evidence Valero Texas refinery blast caused by intentional act, sheriff’s office
• Negative Sentiment: Valero shut its Port Arthur refinery after an explosion and fire in a diesel hydrotreater unit, forcing the company to take its largest refinery offline — an immediate hit to throughput, earnings and free cash flow until repairs and restart are complete. Valero Has Been Forced to Shut Down a Texas Refinery After an Explosion. Here’s What Investors Need to Know.
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory filings indicate a fluid release ignited the blast, which may point to repair complexity, follow-up remediation and possible regulator scrutiny or insurance claims — factors that could increase costs and extend downtime. Fluid release ignited blast, fire at Valero refinery, filing shows

About Valero Energy

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.