Mizuho Reaffirms Neutral Rating for Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO)

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO)‘s stock had its “neutral” rating reiterated by investment analysts at Mizuho in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $192.00 price objective on the oil and gas company’s stock, up from their previous price objective of $190.00. Mizuho’s price target indicates a potential upside of 11.78% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on VLO. Bank of America reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $195.00 price target (down previously from $198.00) on shares of Valero Energy in a research note on Thursday. Piper Sandler upped their target price on Valero Energy from $201.00 to $223.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 14th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Valero Energy in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Barclays boosted their price target on Valero Energy from $169.00 to $184.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 17th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $183.00 price objective on shares of Valero Energy in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Valero Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $183.20.

Valero Energy Trading Down 2.4%

Shares of Valero Energy stock opened at $171.77 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 1.09. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $170.97 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $154.04. Valero Energy has a 1 year low of $99.00 and a 1 year high of $185.62. The company has a market capitalization of $52.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.86, a P/E/G ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.76.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 23rd. The oil and gas company reported $3.66 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.15 by $0.51. The firm had revenue of $32.17 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $28.80 billion. Valero Energy had a net margin of 1.21% and a return on equity of 8.69%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.14 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Valero Energy will post 7.92 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Jason W. Fraser sold 9,933 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.02, for a total transaction of $1,728,540.66. Following the completion of the sale, 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 through the SEC website. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Valero Energy

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. JPL Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Valero Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 70.2% in the 3rd quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 160 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Hoey Investments Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Valero Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates acquired a new stake in shares of Valero Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Cypress Capital Management LLC WY bought a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at $34,000. Institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

About Valero Energy

Valero Energy Corporation manufactures, markets, and sells petroleum-based and low-carbon liquid transportation fuels and petrochemical products in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Latin America, Mexico, Peru, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Refining, Renewable Diesel, and Ethanol.