Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) Price Target Raised to $165.00

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) had its price target boosted by research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $156.00 to $165.00 in a report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “equal weight” rating on the oil and gas company’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s target price suggests a potential upside of 4.90% from the company’s previous close.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. StockNews.com cut Valero Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Mizuho upgraded shares of Valero Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the company from $165.00 to $175.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $190.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 29th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Valero Energy in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $177.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Argus lowered shares of Valero Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Valero Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $172.07.

Valero Energy Price Performance

VLO stock opened at $157.30 on Friday. 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 business has a 50-day simple moving average of $153.75 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $152.79. The company has a market capitalization of $51.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.42. Valero Energy has a 52-week low of $119.88 and a 52-week high of $184.79.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The oil and gas company reported $2.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.60 by $0.11. Valero Energy had a net margin of 5.01% and a return on equity of 24.82%. The business had revenue of $34.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $32.97 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $5.40 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Valero Energy will post 13.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Kimberly S. Greene sold 720 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.12, for a total value of $113,846.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 13,314 shares in the company, valued at $2,105,209.68. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Valero Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $570,428,000. Putnam Investments LLC lifted its position in Valero Energy by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Putnam Investments LLC now owns 3,445,821 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $447,957,000 after purchasing an additional 122,207 shares during the last quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. grew its stake in Valero Energy by 18.7% in the 4th quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. now owns 2,389,654 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $310,655,000 after buying an additional 376,449 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in shares of Valero Energy by 3.3% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,063,923 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $352,292,000 after buying an additional 65,632 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 37.6% during 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 acquiring an additional 426,093 shares during the last quarter. 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.