Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fifteen ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $174.50.

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Argus downgraded Valero Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective 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. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Valero Energy in a report on Thursday, July 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $177.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com lowered Valero Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Scotiabank upped their price objective on Valero Energy from $165.00 to $173.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 12th.

Valero Energy Trading Up 1.4 %

NYSE VLO opened at $136.10 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $147.87 and its 200 day moving average price is $155.66. Valero Energy has a 12 month low of $119.88 and a 12 month high of $184.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 1.48 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The company has a market capitalization of $43.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.40.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The oil and gas company reported $2.71 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.60 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $34.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $32.97 billion. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 21.01% and a net margin of 4.25%. The business’s revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $5.40 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Valero Energy will post 12.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 1st were given a dividend of $1.07 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 1st. This represents a $4.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.14%. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is currently 21.20%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Valero Energy

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in Valero Energy by 2.8% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 6,956,743 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,090,532,000 after buying an additional 192,397 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $570,428,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 5.8% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,319,436 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $677,007,000 after acquiring an additional 237,347 shares during the period. Putnam Investments LLC increased its stake in Valero Energy by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Putnam Investments LLC now owns 3,445,821 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $447,957,000 after purchasing an additional 122,207 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Valero Energy by 1.9% during the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,018,107 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $473,118,000 after purchasing an additional 56,989 shares during the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Valero Energy Company Profile

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.