Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) Price Target Lowered to $179.00 at Wells Fargo & Company

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) had its target price reduced by Wells Fargo & Company from $184.00 to $179.00 in a report released on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an equal weight rating on the oil and gas company’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on Valero Energy from $198.00 to $187.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 14th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $138.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a sector outperform rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $167.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $173.00 to $176.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Monday, May 13th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on Valero Energy from $160.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $173.53.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:VLO opened at $154.43 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $163.99 and its 200 day simple moving average is $147.56. The stock has a market cap of $50.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.47. Valero Energy has a twelve month low of $108.28 and a twelve month high of $184.79.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The oil and gas company reported $3.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.18 by $0.64. The company had revenue of $31.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $32.02 billion. Valero Energy had a net margin of 5.01% and a return on equity of 24.82%. Valero Energy’s quarterly revenue was down 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $8.27 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Valero Energy will post 17.82 EPS for the current year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 30th will be issued a dividend of $1.07 per share. This represents a $4.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 30th. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is presently 21.20%.

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Collective Family Office LLC boosted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Collective Family Office LLC now owns 4,040 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $690,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in Valero Energy by 4.7% in the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,327 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $227,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Covenant Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Valero Energy by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Covenant Asset Management LLC now owns 14,659 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,502,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the period. Drive Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Valero Energy by 1.1% during the first quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,797 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $990,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rovin Capital UT ADV boosted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 3.5% in the first quarter. Rovin Capital UT ADV now owns 1,968 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $336,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

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.