Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) Receives $174.50 Average Target Price from Brokerages

Shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the fifteen brokerages that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $174.50.

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on VLO. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on Valero Energy from $187.00 to $169.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, June 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $178.00 to $172.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $165.00 to $172.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Mizuho raised Valero Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $165.00 to $175.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Valero Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th.

Valero Energy Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of Valero Energy stock opened at $134.26 on Wednesday. Valero Energy has a 1 year low of $119.88 and a 1 year high of $184.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 1.48 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The company has a 50-day moving average of $146.50 and a 200 day moving average of $155.28. The firm has a market cap of $43.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.65, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.40.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The oil and gas company reported $2.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.60 by $0.11. Valero Energy had a net margin of 4.25% and a return on equity of 21.01%. The firm had revenue of $34.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $32.97 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $5.40 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Valero Energy will post 12.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, August 1st were given a dividend of $1.07 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 1st. This represents a $4.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.19%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.20%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. 9258 Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 7.2% in the 4th quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,704 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $222,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. grew its holdings in Valero Energy by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 12,124 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,576,000 after purchasing an additional 484 shares during the period. Ieq Capital LLC increased its position in Valero Energy by 18.8% in the fourth quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 9,258 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,204,000 after buying an additional 1,467 shares in the last quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC raised its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 5,806 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $755,000 after buying an additional 121 shares during the period. Finally, Avantax Advisory Services Inc. lifted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 45,856 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $5,961,000 after buying an additional 2,122 shares in the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by 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.