Wells Fargo & Company Cuts Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) Price Target to $156.00

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) had its price objective dropped by stock analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $179.00 to $156.00 in a report released on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “equal weight” rating on the oil and gas company’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price target points to a potential upside of 6.43% from the company’s current price.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the company. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Valero Energy from $130.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Mizuho reduced their target price on Valero Energy from $176.00 to $171.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 20th. Bank of America upgraded Valero Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $156.00 to $210.00 in a research note on Friday, March 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Valero Energy from $178.00 to $172.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Finally, Argus downgraded Valero Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $169.53.

Valero Energy Price Performance

NYSE VLO traded down $0.07 on Friday, hitting $146.57. 452,060 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,083,164. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $155.31 and a 200-day moving average of $151.52. The company has a current ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. Valero Energy has a 52 week low of $112.67 and a 52 week high of $184.79. The stock has a market cap of $47.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.42.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The oil and gas company reported $3.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.18 by $0.64. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 24.82% and a net margin of 5.01%. The firm had revenue of $31.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $32.02 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $8.27 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Valero Energy will post 15.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Valero Energy news, Director Kimberly S. Greene sold 720 shares of Valero Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.12, for a total transaction of $113,846.40. Following the transaction, the director now owns 13,314 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,105,209.68. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of VLO. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Valero Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Lynx Investment Advisory purchased a new position in shares of Valero Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Valero Energy during the 1st quarter valued at $33,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Valero Energy during the 1st quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Valero Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.