Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) Price Target Increased to $174.00 by Analysts at Mizuho

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) had its price target raised by Mizuho from $162.00 to $174.00 in a report published on Monday, FlyOnTheWall reports.

VLO has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Bank of America cut Valero Energy from a buy rating to a neutral rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $160.00 to $152.00 in a research report on Tuesday, August 15th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Valero Energy from $135.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research report on Friday, September 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $172.00 to $171.00 in a report on Friday, July 7th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Valero Energy from $150.00 to $159.00 in a research report on Friday, August 4th. Finally, StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Valero Energy in a research note on Thursday, August 17th. They issued a buy rating for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $153.44.

Valero Energy Trading Down 1.6 %

NYSE:VLO opened at $143.68 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. Valero Energy has a 1-year low of $97.73 and a 1-year high of $150.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.66. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $129.60 and a 200 day simple moving average of $123.61.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 27th. The oil and gas company reported $5.40 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.08 by $0.32. Valero Energy had a net margin of 6.96% and a return on equity of 42.31%. The firm had revenue of $34.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.37 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $11.36 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 33.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Valero Energy will post 24.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 3rd were paid a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 2nd. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Joseph W. Gorder sold 75,580 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.99, for a total value of $10,278,124.20. Following the transaction, the director now owns 621,872 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $84,568,373.28. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Valero Energy

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of VLO. Nelson Van Denburg & Campbell Wealth Management Group LLC boosted its holdings in Valero Energy by 110.8% during the second quarter. Nelson Van Denburg & Campbell Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 215 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 113 shares during the last quarter. Live Oak Investment Partners acquired a new position in Valero Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Stone House Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Valero Energy in the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Sageworth Trust Co raised its holdings in Valero Energy by 716.7% in the first quarter. Sageworth Trust Co now owns 196 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the period. Finally, Prostatis Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Valero Energy during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.07% of the company’s stock.

Valero Energy Company Profile

Valero Energy Corporation manufactures, markets, and sells transportation fuels and petrochemical products in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Latin America, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Refining, Renewable Diesel, and Ethanol. The company produces California Reformulated Gasoline Blendstock for Oxygenate Blending and Conventional Blendstock for Oxygenate Blending gasolines, CARB diesel, diesel, jet fuel, and asphalt; aromatics; and sulfur crude oils.