Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) Price Target Lowered to $172.00 at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) had its price objective decreased by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $178.00 to $172.00 in a research note released on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has an overweight rating on the oil and gas company’s stock.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. UBS Group raised their target price on Valero Energy from $167.00 to $197.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on Valero Energy from $187.00 to $169.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research note on Friday, June 14th. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on Valero Energy from $190.00 to $185.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Valero Energy from $184.00 to $179.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 6th. Finally, Argus lowered Valero Energy from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Thursday, May 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $171.47.

Valero Energy Trading Down 0.0 %

NYSE VLO opened at $157.96 on Tuesday. Valero Energy has a fifty-two week low of $112.16 and a fifty-two week high of $184.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.59. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $157.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $150.68. The stock has a market cap of $51.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.42.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The oil and gas company reported $3.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.18 by $0.64. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 24.82% and a net margin of 5.01%. The business had revenue of $31.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $32.02 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $8.27 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Valero Energy will post 16.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 30th were issued a dividend of $1.07 per share. This represents a $4.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 30th. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.20%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Valero Energy

In other news, Director Kimberly S. Greene sold 720 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.12, for a total value of $113,846.40. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 13,314 shares in the company, valued at $2,105,209.68. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.47% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Valero Energy

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Valero Energy during the fourth quarter worth approximately $570,428,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 12,883.3% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,047,360 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $136,157,000 after buying an additional 1,039,293 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 6.1% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 8,961,603 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,269,949,000 after buying an additional 517,068 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 37.6% during the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,558,750 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $266,040,000 after buying an additional 426,093 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. grew its stake in Valero Energy by 18.7% in the fourth quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. now owns 2,389,654 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $310,655,000 after purchasing an additional 376,449 shares in the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.