Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) Downgraded to “Hold” Rating by Zacks Research

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Valero Energy from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $184.00 to $261.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Raymond James Financial boosted their price objective on Valero Energy from $215.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. Citigroup raised their target price on Valero Energy from $246.00 to $259.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Valero Energy from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $245.59.

Valero Energy Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE VLO opened at $244.44 on Monday. Valero Energy has a 12-month low of $130.78 and a 12-month high of $265.61. The company has a market cap of $72.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.35 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $245.38 and its 200 day simple moving average is $216.02.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The oil and gas company reported $4.22 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.16 by $1.06. The firm had revenue of $32.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.38 billion. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 15.94% and a net margin of 3.37%.The firm’s revenue was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.89 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Valero Energy will post 27.45 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Valero Energy

In related news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.90, for a total transaction of $1,776,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 27,242 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,453,629.80. This trade represents a 21.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Valero Energy

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the 4th quarter worth $1,111,542,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership acquired a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at $275,239,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Valero Energy by 2,635.7% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 950,527 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $154,736,000 after buying an additional 915,782 shares during the period. Amundi lifted its stake in Valero Energy by 45.3% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 2,584,976 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $638,695,000 after buying an additional 806,018 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 49.3% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,696,811 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $276,224,000 after buying an additional 560,116 shares during the period. 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.