Analysts Set Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) Price Target at $183.00

Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) has received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $183.5333.

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on VLO shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $216.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 10th. Barclays boosted their price target on Valero Energy from $169.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 17th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Valero Energy from $181.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 10th. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Valero Energy in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Valero Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Jason W. Fraser sold 9,933 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.02, for a total value of $1,728,540.66. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 134,196 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,352,787.92. This trade represents a 6.89% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Valero Energy

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Valero Energy during the 2nd quarter worth about $827,390,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership acquired a new stake in Valero Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $275,239,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Valero Energy by 16.7% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,141,511 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,089,897,000 after buying an additional 1,164,217 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 162.5% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 523,692 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $70,395,000 after buying an additional 324,174 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 2.5% in the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,724,707 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,576,035,000 after acquiring an additional 286,942 shares during the period. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Valero Energy Trading Down 0.4%

NYSE:VLO opened at $181.70 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $55.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.77. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $175.25 and its 200 day moving average price is $163.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.60. Valero Energy has a 52 week low of $99.00 and a 52 week high of $194.50.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The oil and gas company reported $3.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.27 by $0.55. Valero Energy had a net margin of 1.91% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The firm had revenue of $30.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $28.20 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.64 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Valero Energy will post 7.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 9th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 5th will be paid a $1.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 5th. This is a positive change from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.13. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 94.36%.

Valero Energy News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Valero Energy this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 earnings beat — Valero posted adjusted EPS of $3.82 vs. consensus ~$3.27 and reported higher refining margins that lifted profitability. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Record throughput and operational strength highlighted on the earnings call — management cited record throughput that supports margin recovery and cash generation. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrade — Piper Sandler raised its price target to $220 and set an “overweight” rating, signaling ~21% upside versus recent levels and reinforcing bullish analyst sentiment. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Other analyst moves mixed — Morgan Stanley increased its target to $180 (below some peers’ targets and close to current levels), showing varied analyst views on near-term upside. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Supply actions — Valero said it will buy Venezuelan crude from three authorized sellers; operationally notable but carries geopolitical/supply considerations rather than immediate earnings surprises. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Offsetting margin and revenue notes — analysts and reports flagged weaker renewable-diesel margins and a small (-1.2%) y/y revenue decline; Valero’s net margin remained modest, which could limit multiple expansion despite the EPS beat. Read More.

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.