Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) Receives $172.00 Average Target Price from Brokerages

Shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the sixteen analysts that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $172.00.

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $130.00 to $171.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. StockNews.com raised Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Citigroup upped their target price on Valero Energy from $160.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Valero Energy from $177.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $184.00 to $179.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 6th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Valero Energy

In related news, Director Kimberly S. Greene sold 720 shares of Valero Energy stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.12, for a total value of $113,846.40. Following the transaction, the director now owns 13,314 shares in the company, valued at $2,105,209.68. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.04% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of VLO. Trexquant Investment LP acquired a new position in shares of Valero Energy during the third quarter worth $4,263,000. United Services Automobile Association increased its position in shares of Valero Energy by 0.7% during the third quarter. United Services Automobile Association now owns 68,728 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $9,739,000 after acquiring an additional 482 shares during the last quarter. Fusion Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 14.2% in the third quarter. Fusion Capital LLC now owns 36,791 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $5,214,000 after acquiring an additional 4,576 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Valero Energy by 21.2% in the third quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 40,001 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $5,667,000 after purchasing an additional 7,002 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Valero Energy by 7.1% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,025,956 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $287,098,000 after purchasing an additional 133,689 shares during the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Valero Energy Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE:VLO opened at $156.76 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $51.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.76, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.47. Valero Energy has a fifty-two week low of $112.16 and a fifty-two week high of $184.79. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $157.35 and its 200-day simple moving average is $150.47. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The oil and gas company reported $3.82 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.18 by $0.64. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 24.82% and a net margin of 5.01%. The company had revenue of $31.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $32.02 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $8.27 earnings per share. Valero Energy’s quarterly revenue was down 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Valero Energy will post 16.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 30th were given a dividend of $1.07 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 30th. This represents a $4.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.73%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.20%.

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.