Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) Stock Price Expected to Rise, UBS Group Analyst Says

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) had its price target hoisted by stock analysts at UBS Group from $355.00 to $450.00 in a report released on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the oil and gas company’s stock. UBS Group’s target price points to a potential upside of 18.41% from the stock’s current price.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Citigroup lifted their target price on Valero Energy from $259.00 to $302.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Valero Energy from $232.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, June 12th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Valero Energy from $338.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Valero Energy from $329.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, September 3rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $286.00 to $357.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $301.76.

Valero Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE VLO traded up $9.31 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $380.03. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 633,276 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,277,943. The company has a market cap of $109.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 0.57. Valero Energy has a one year low of $153.60 and a one year high of $382.55. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $317.34 and a 200 day moving average price of $266.53.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The oil and gas company reported $12.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $10.11 by $2.43. The firm had revenue of $44.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $39.47 billion. Valero Energy had a net margin of 5.17% and a return on equity of 26.74%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 48.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.28 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Valero Energy will post 41.15 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Valero Energy

In related news, SVP Eric Fisher sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.17, for a total value of $2,011,275.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 19,742 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,294,212.14. This represents a 27.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Valero Energy

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in VLO. Woodline Partners LP lifted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 40.7% in the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 26,747 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $3,532,000 after purchasing an additional 7,735 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC grew its position in Valero Energy by 13.0% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,929 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $259,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares in the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL purchased a new position in Valero Energy during the second quarter valued at approximately $528,000. Sei Investments Co. increased its stake in Valero Energy by 11.3% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 269,043 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $36,165,000 after buying an additional 27,291 shares during the period. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina increased its stake in Valero Energy by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 145,810 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $19,600,000 after buying an additional 1,338 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

About Valero Energy

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.