Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) Hits New 12-Month Low After Analyst Downgrade

Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) shares reached a new 52-week low on Tuesday after Mizuho lowered their price target on the stock from $171.00 to $165.00. Mizuho currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Valero Energy traded as low as $123.63 and last traded at $124.79, with a volume of 247502 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $125.07.

Several other brokerages have also 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 stock from $169.00 to $123.00 in a research note on Friday, September 20th. TD Cowen decreased their target price on Valero Energy from $145.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Valero Energy from $175.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Scotiabank decreased their price objective on Valero Energy from $173.00 to $141.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $172.00 to $151.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Valero Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $155.07.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in VLO. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,293,589 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $174,673,000 after acquiring an additional 22,571 shares in the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its stake in Valero Energy by 7.5% in the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 89,762 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $12,121,000 after purchasing an additional 6,278 shares in the last quarter. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Valero Energy by 136.1% during the third quarter. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC now owns 75,117 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $10,143,000 after purchasing an additional 43,299 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in Valero Energy by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 6,956,743 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,090,532,000 after buying an additional 192,397 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Foster & Motley Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 23.3% in the 3rd quarter. Foster & Motley Inc. now owns 20,802 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,809,000 after buying an additional 3,934 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Valero Energy Price Performance

The business’s fifty day moving average price is $135.66 and its 200-day moving average price is $142.78. The company has a market capitalization of $39.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The oil and gas company reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $32.88 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.04 billion. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 13.07% and a net margin of 2.74%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $7.49 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Valero Energy Co. will post 8.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be paid a $1.07 dividend. This represents a $4.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.43%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 38.39%.

Valero Energy Company Profile

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.