Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the sixteen analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have assigned a hold recommendation, ten have issued a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $165.20.

Several brokerages recently issued reports on VLO. Piper Sandler lowered shares of Valero Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $169.00 to $123.00 in a report on Friday, September 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on Valero Energy from $149.00 to $131.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 16th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Valero Energy from $165.00 to $172.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Valero Energy from $172.00 to $151.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $165.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 12th.

Institutional Trading of Valero Energy

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 37.6% in the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,558,750 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $266,040,000 after buying an additional 426,093 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 5.8% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,319,436 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $677,007,000 after purchasing an additional 237,347 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in Valero Energy by 17.6% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,550,010 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $238,841,000 after buying an additional 232,494 shares during the period. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Valero Energy during the first quarter worth about $39,517,000. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its stake in Valero Energy by 20.5% in the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,145,117 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $179,490,000 after acquiring an additional 194,974 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Valero Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE VLO opened at $142.42 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.57 billion, a PE ratio of 7.05, a P/E/G ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 1.39. Valero Energy has a fifty-two week low of $119.88 and a fifty-two week high of $184.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 1.48 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $142.67 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $153.79.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The oil and gas company reported $2.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.60 by $0.11. Valero Energy had a net margin of 4.25% and a return on equity of 21.01%. The business had revenue of $34.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $32.97 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $5.40 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Valero Energy will post 10.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 1st were issued a dividend of $1.07 per share. This represents a $4.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 1st. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.20%.

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.