The Goldman Sachs Group Issues Positive Forecast for Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) Stock Price

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) had its price target upped by The Goldman Sachs Group from $286.00 to $357.00 in a research report report published on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the oil and gas company’s stock.

VLO has been the subject of several other reports. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $261.00 to $279.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Raymond James Financial upped their price target on Valero Energy from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Valero Energy from $232.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, June 12th. Wolfe Research reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a $203.00 price objective on shares of Valero Energy in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Valero Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $262.82.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

VLO stock opened at $310.90 on Wednesday. Valero Energy has a one year low of $130.78 and a one year high of $320.24. The firm has a market cap of $92.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.59, a PEG ratio of 0.38 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.58. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $262.98 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $232.93.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The oil and gas company reported $4.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.16 by $1.06. The firm had revenue of $32.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.38 billion. Valero Energy had a net margin of 3.37% and a return on equity of 15.94%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.89 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Valero Energy will post 32.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 31st will be paid a dividend of $1.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 31st. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.88%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 7,500 shares of Valero Energy stock in a transaction on Monday, June 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.17, for a total transaction of $2,011,275.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 19,742 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,294,212.14. The trade was a 27.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Valero Energy

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ballast Inc. lifted its position in Valero Energy by 7.4% during the 2nd quarter. Ballast Inc. now owns 6,217 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,619,000 after acquiring an additional 430 shares during the period. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the second quarter valued at about $205,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the second quarter valued at about $286,000. Tema ETFs LLC raised its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 10.2% in the second quarter. Tema ETFs LLC now owns 6,270 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,633,000 after purchasing an additional 580 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HRC Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the second quarter worth about $208,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Valero Energy News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Goldman Sachs raised Valero Energy’s price target to $357 from $286 and kept a buy rating, signaling meaningful upside from current levels. Benzinga article
• Positive Sentiment: TD Cowen also lifted its price target on Valero to $338 from $292, reinforcing improving Street sentiment on the stock. Benzinga article
• Positive Sentiment: A recent comparison of Valero vs. Cenovus Energy argued that VLO’s refining advantage and near-term upside make it the more attractive energy stock right now. Yahoo Finance article
• Neutral Sentiment: Another article echoed the same Valero vs. Cenovus comparison, but it was more of an opinion/research piece than a new operational update for VLO. Zacks article
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks also published a long-term growth article naming Valero as a top growth stock, which is supportive but not a direct catalyst. Zacks article

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.