Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) Upgraded at Argus

Argus upgraded shares of Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Valero Energy from $216.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 10th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Valero Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 3rd. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Valero Energy in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $217.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Valero Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $183.53.

Valero Energy Price Performance

Shares of Valero Energy stock opened at $197.34 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 1.09. Valero Energy has a 12 month low of $99.00 and a 12 month high of $198.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $60.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.83, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.77. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $176.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $164.67.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The oil and gas company reported $3.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.27 by $0.55. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 1.91%.The business had revenue of $30.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $28.20 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.64 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Valero Energy will post 7.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 9th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 5th will be issued a $1.20 dividend. This is a boost from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.13. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 5th. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is currently 59.16%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Jason W. Fraser sold 9,933 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.02, for a total value of $1,728,540.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 134,196 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,352,787.92. This represents a 6.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.04% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Valero Energy

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in VLO. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Valero Energy by 17.4% in the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 160,794 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $27,377,000 after acquiring an additional 23,859 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 15.7% in the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 161,957 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $21,770,000 after purchasing an additional 21,997 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 9.0% during the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 104,859 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $17,853,000 after purchasing an additional 8,638 shares during the period. Tema Etfs LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,669,000. Finally, Rakuten Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Valero Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $4,534,000. Institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Valero Energy Company Profile

Valero Energy Corporation is a San Antonio, Texas–based integrated downstream energy company that manufactures and markets transportation fuels, petrochemical feedstocks and other industrial products. The company’s operations focus on refining crude oil into finished fuels such as gasoline, diesel and jet fuel, as well as producing asphalt and other refined product streams for commercial and industrial customers.

In addition to refining, Valero has significant operations in renewable fuels, including the production of ethanol and other biofuels, and it manages an extensive logistics network of pipelines, terminals, rail and marine assets to move feedstocks and finished products.