Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) has been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the fifteen research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have given a hold recommendation, ten have issued a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $154.57.

VLO has been the topic of several analyst reports. Piper Sandler downgraded shares of Valero Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $169.00 to $123.00 in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $146.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Valero Energy from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered 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, October 2nd. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price objective on Valero Energy from $192.00 to $176.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Valero Energy

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of VLO. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Valero Energy in the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA acquired a new position in shares of Valero Energy during the 3rd quarter worth about $34,000. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its stake in Valero Energy by 196.8% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 276 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Valero Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in Valero Energy in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $50,000. Institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

VLO opened at $133.49 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The firm has a market cap of $42.26 billion, a PE ratio of 11.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.42. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $131.06 and a 200-day simple moving average of $138.75. Valero Energy has a fifty-two week low of $116.84 and a fifty-two week high of $184.79.

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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.04 billion. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 13.07% and a net margin of 2.74%. Valero Energy’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $7.49 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Valero Energy will post 8.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th were given a $1.07 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $4.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.21%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 38.39%.

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.