Wells Fargo & Company Issues Positive Forecast for Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) Stock Price

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) had its price objective boosted by research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $220.00 to $292.00 in a report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the oil and gas company’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s target price points to a potential upside of 15.84% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Scotiabank raised shares of Valero Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Argus raised shares of Valero Energy to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $217.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $190.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $204.33.

Valero Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE VLO opened at $252.07 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The company has a market capitalization of $75.38 billion, a PE ratio of 32.97, a PEG ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 0.70. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $210.59 and its 200-day moving average price is $184.66. Valero Energy has a twelve month low of $99.00 and a twelve month high of $258.43.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The oil and gas company reported $3.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.27 by $0.55. The firm had revenue of $30.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $28.20 billion. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 12.35% and a net margin of 1.91%.The business’s revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.64 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Valero Energy will post 7.92 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 8,311 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.69, for a total value of $1,892,331.59. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 42,242 shares in the company, valued at $9,618,080.98. This trade represents a 16.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Valero Energy

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Woodline Partners LP increased its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 40.7% during the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 26,747 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,532,000 after purchasing an additional 7,735 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 13.0% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,929 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $259,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares in the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 26.8% during the 2nd quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 5,240 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $704,000 after buying an additional 1,106 shares in the last quarter. Smith Moore & CO. boosted its holdings in Valero Energy by 27.6% in the 2nd quarter. Smith Moore & CO. now owns 5,577 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $750,000 after buying an additional 1,206 shares during the period. Finally, Panagora Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Valero Energy by 1,218.4% during the second quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 228,030 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $30,652,000 after acquiring an additional 210,734 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.