Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) Upgraded to “Buy” by StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Monday.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Valero Energy from $130.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock a sell rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Argus cut Valero Energy from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Thursday, May 16th. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on Valero Energy from $138.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a sector outperform rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Valero Energy from $177.00 to $178.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on Valero Energy from $160.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $171.87.

Valero Energy Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of Valero Energy stock opened at $157.98 on Monday. Valero Energy has a one year low of $112.16 and a one year high of $184.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.59 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $157.35 and its 200 day moving average is $150.47. The firm has a market cap of $51.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.82, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.42.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The oil and gas company reported $3.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.18 by $0.64. The business had revenue of $31.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $32.02 billion. Valero Energy had a net margin of 5.01% and a return on equity of 24.82%. Valero Energy’s revenue was down 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $8.27 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Valero Energy will post 16.09 EPS for the current year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 30th were given a dividend of $1.07 per share. This represents a $4.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.71%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 30th. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.20%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Valero Energy

In other Valero Energy news, Director Kimberly S. Greene sold 720 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 9th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $2,105,209.68. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.47% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. boosted its holdings in Valero Energy by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. now owns 4,981 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $648,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG increased its position in shares of Valero Energy by 5.8% during the third quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,005,346 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $142,468,000 after purchasing an additional 55,351 shares in the last quarter. Stiles Financial Services Inc raised its stake in Valero Energy by 49.7% during the 4th quarter. Stiles Financial Services Inc now owns 7,615 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $991,000 after acquiring an additional 2,529 shares during the last quarter. MGO One Seven LLC raised its stake in Valero Energy by 198.8% during the 4th quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 16,605 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,159,000 after acquiring an additional 11,047 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in Valero Energy by 14.0% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,788,994 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $362,569,000 after purchasing an additional 342,218 shares during the period. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.