Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) Price Target Raised to $436.00

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) had its price objective hoisted by Mizuho from $434.00 to $436.00 in a research report report published on Monday. They currently have a neutral rating on the oil and gas company’s stock.

VLO has been the subject of several other reports. Raymond James Financial lifted their price target on Valero Energy from $350.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 14th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $375.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. Freedom Broker downgraded shares of Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $276.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $485.00 to $490.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 23rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $365.00 to $457.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 23rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $406.32.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

Valero Energy stock traded down $2.71 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $362.63. 2,117,418 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,309,402. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.72 and a quick ratio of 1.33. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $399.58 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $287.97. Valero Energy has a fifty-two week low of $159.90 and a fifty-two week high of $461.52. The stock has a market cap of $104.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.16, a P/E/G ratio of 0.20 and a beta of 0.58.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The oil and gas company reported $23.90 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $21.17 by $2.73. The business had revenue of $46.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $42.71 billion. Valero Energy had a net margin of 8.44% and a return on equity of 45.90%. Valero Energy’s revenue was up 43.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.66 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Valero Energy will post 57.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 21st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 24th will be given a dividend of $1.20 per share. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 24th. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 10.80%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of VLO. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in Valero Energy by 11.4% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 5,033,310 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,243,630,000 after acquiring an additional 516,975 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in Valero Energy by 9.4% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,969,320 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $733,660,000 after purchasing an additional 254,604 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its stake in Valero Energy by 18.4% in the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,842,339 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $702,285,000 after purchasing an additional 442,177 shares during the period. Amundi increased 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 purchasing an additional 806,018 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position 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 purchasing an additional 520,642 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Valero Energy Company Profile

Valero Energy Corporation is an international energy company headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. The company’s primary business is refining and marketing transportation fuels, including gasoline, diesel, jet fuel and other products used by commercial, industrial and consumer customers.

Valero operates refineries in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. Its refining operations also produce asphalt, petrochemical feedstocks and other petroleum-based products. The company markets fuel through wholesale channels and branded retail networks, including Valero, Beacon and Shamrock-branded locations.

In addition to conventional refining, Valero has businesses focused on renewable fuels.