Valero Energy’s (VLO) Overweight Rating Reaffirmed at Piper Sandler

Piper Sandler reaffirmed their overweight rating on shares of Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) in a report published on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $329.00 target price on the oil and gas company’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on VLO. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $292.00 to $338.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $203.00 price objective on shares of Valero Energy in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Barclays lifted their target price on Valero Energy from $261.00 to $279.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Valero Energy from $286.00 to $357.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $280.00 price objective on shares of Valero Energy in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $266.71.

Valero Energy Trading Down 2.0%

VLO opened at $304.63 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $90.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.37 and a beta of 0.55. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $264.18 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $233.91. Valero Energy has a 1-year low of $130.78 and a 1-year high of $320.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.15.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The oil and gas company reported $4.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.16 by $1.06. The business had revenue of $32.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.38 billion. Valero Energy had a net margin of 3.37% and a return on equity of 15.94%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.89 EPS. Analysts expect that Valero Energy will post 32.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 31st will be issued a $1.20 dividend. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 31st. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.88%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Valero Energy

In other news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 19,742 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,294,212.14. This represents a 27.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Valero Energy

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Whipplewood Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 3,400.0% during the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 105 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the period. JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Valero Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in Valero Energy in the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Valero Energy by 134.0% in the 1st quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 117 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the period. Finally, Torren Management LLC purchased a new position in Valero Energy during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. 78.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Valero Energy News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Goldman Sachs raised its price target on Valero Energy (VLO) from $286 to $357 and kept a Buy rating, signaling meaningful upside versus the current share price.
• Positive Sentiment: Piper Sandler reaffirmed an Overweight rating and lifted its target to $329, also pointing to additional upside for the stock.
• Positive Sentiment: Several recent articles highlighted Valero as a strong momentum stock and a favorable pick versus Cenovus, which may be helping investor sentiment ahead of next week’s earnings report. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts expect earnings growth in Valero’s upcoming report, but one preview noted the setup does not look ideal for a likely earnings beat, suggesting expectations are already fairly balanced. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Broader energy-market headlines, including refinery and crude-flow shifts, may affect VLO’s operating backdrop, but they do not directly change Valero’s outlook on their own.

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.