Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) Stock Price Expected to Rise, TD Cowen Analyst Says

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) had its price target increased by research analysts at TD Cowen from $375.00 to $400.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “hold” rating on the oil and gas company’s stock. TD Cowen’s price target would suggest a potential downside of 5.41% from the company’s previous close.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the company. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on Valero Energy from $401.00 to $394.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Erste Group Bank downgraded Valero Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 27th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $395.00 to $414.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 2nd. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Valero Energy from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $365.00 to $457.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Valero Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $385.75.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:VLO traded down $13.86 on Thursday, reaching $422.89. 548,941 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,288,154. Valero Energy has a twelve month low of $159.90 and a twelve month high of $461.52. The company has a fifty day moving average of $389.82 and a 200-day moving average of $308.10. The company has a market capitalization of $121.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.50, a PEG ratio of 0.27 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The oil and gas company reported $23.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $21.17 by $2.73. The company had revenue of $46.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $42.71 billion. Valero Energy had a net margin of 5.17% and a return on equity of 26.74%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 43.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.66 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Valero Energy will post 52.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Valero Energy

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,195,943,000. Amundi raised its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 45.3% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 2,584,976 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $638,695,000 after buying an additional 806,018 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 33.9% during the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,058,341 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $536,074,000 after buying an additional 520,642 shares during the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LP bought a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the 2nd quarter worth $59,917,000. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 18.4% during the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,842,339 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $702,285,000 after buying an additional 442,177 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

About Valero Energy

Valero Energy Corporation is an international energy company headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. The company’s primary business is refining and marketing transportation fuels, including gasoline, diesel, jet fuel and other products used by commercial, industrial and consumer customers.

Valero operates refineries in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. Its refining operations also produce asphalt, petrochemical feedstocks and other petroleum-based products. The company markets fuel through wholesale channels and branded retail networks, including Valero, Beacon and Shamrock-branded locations.

In addition to conventional refining, Valero has businesses focused on renewable fuels.