UBS Group Issues Positive Forecast for Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) Stock Price

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) had its price target boosted by UBS Group from $215.00 to $280.00 in a report issued on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. UBS Group currently has a buy rating on the oil and gas company’s stock.

VLO has been the subject of a number of other reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $197.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Argus raised shares of Valero Energy to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Valero Energy in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $190.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $210.80.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

NYSE VLO opened at $244.02 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $72.97 billion, a PE ratio of 31.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $214.04 and its 200 day moving average price is $186.09. Valero Energy has a twelve month low of $99.00 and a twelve month high of $258.43.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The oil and gas company reported $3.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.27 by $0.55. Valero Energy had a net margin of 1.91% and a return on equity of 12.35%. The business had revenue of $30.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $28.20 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.64 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Valero Energy will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.60, for a total transaction of $95,440.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.04% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Valero Energy

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC raised its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC now owns 975 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $159,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 32.9% during the 4th quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 206 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 9,610 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,564,000 after buying an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC raised its position in Valero Energy by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 3,788 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $617,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Prospera Financial Services Inc grew its position in Valero Energy by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 16,268 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,651,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

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.