Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) Sets New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) shares reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday. The company traded as high as $450.22 and last traded at $445.6490, with a volume of 375,738 shares. The stock had previously closed at $436.00.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on VLO shares. Bank of America raised their price objective on Valero Energy from $395.00 to $414.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 2nd. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $467.00 target price on shares of Valero Energy in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Valero Energy from $365.00 to $457.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 23rd. Finally, Erste Group Bank downgraded Valero Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $365.19.

Valero Energy Stock Up 3.1%

The firm has a 50 day moving average of $371.24 and a 200-day moving average of $298.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 1.64 and a quick ratio of 1.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $129.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.28 and a beta of 0.59.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The oil and gas company reported $12.54 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.11 by $2.43. The business had revenue of $44.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $39.47 billion. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 26.74% and a net margin of 5.17%. Valero Energy’s revenue was up 48.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.28 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Valero Energy Corporation will post 51.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 31st were issued a $1.20 dividend. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 31st. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is 19.92%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Valero Energy

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,195,943,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of 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 valued at $154,736,000 after buying an additional 915,782 shares in the last quarter. Amundi lifted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 45.3% during the 1st 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. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 33.9% during the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,058,341 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $536,074,000 after acquiring an additional 520,642 shares during the period. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LP bought a new position in shares of Valero Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $59,917,000. 78.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Valero Energy

Valero Energy Corporation is an international petroleum refining, renewable fuels and marketing company headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. Founded in 1980, the company processes crude oil and other feedstocks into transportation fuels and other products used by commercial, industrial and consumer customers.

Valero’s refined products include gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, asphalt, lubricants and petrochemical feedstocks. The company also produces and markets ethanol and renewable diesel, including through its Diamond Green Diesel joint venture with Darling Ingredients.