Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) Receives $171.47 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

Shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) have been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the sixteen ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have assigned a hold recommendation, eleven have assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $172.07.

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $156.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday. Mizuho raised shares of Valero Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $165.00 to $175.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $190.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Valero Energy in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $177.00 target price on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $178.00 to $172.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd.

Valero Energy Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of Valero Energy stock opened at $159.12 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $153.61 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $153.18. The company has a market cap of $52.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.88, a PEG ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.42. Valero Energy has a 12-month low of $119.88 and a 12-month high of $184.79.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The oil and gas company reported $2.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.60 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $34.49 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $32.97 billion. Valero Energy had a net margin of 4.25% and a return on equity of 20.97%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $5.40 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Valero Energy will post 13.18 EPS for the current year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 1st will be issued a dividend of $1.07 per share. This represents a $4.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 1st. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.20%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Valero Energy

In other Valero Energy news, Director Kimberly S. Greene sold 720 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.12, for a total transaction of $113,846.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 13,314 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,105,209.68. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Valero Energy

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. OmniStar Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. OmniStar Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,543 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $712,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 30.8% during the 2nd quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 18,093 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,836,000 after acquiring an additional 4,261 shares during the last quarter. Jessup Wealth Management Inc boosted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 112.7% during the 2nd quarter. Jessup Wealth Management Inc now owns 56,123 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $8,798,000 after acquiring an additional 29,734 shares during the last quarter. Simmons Bank boosted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 52.4% during the 2nd quarter. Simmons Bank now owns 4,592 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $720,000 after acquiring an additional 1,579 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Atomi Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 42.6% during the 2nd quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 5,775 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $905,000 after acquiring an additional 1,726 shares during the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Valero Energy

Valero Energy Corporation manufactures, markets, and sells petroleum-based and low-carbon liquid transportation fuels and petrochemical products in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Latin America, Mexico, Peru, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Refining, Renewable Diesel, and Ethanol.