Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) Hits New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $399.40 and last traded at $398.0460, with a volume of 371747 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $390.42.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on VLO. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $338.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. 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 increased their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $355.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 8th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $279.00 to $323.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $286.00 to $357.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Valero Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $301.76.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $327.00 and a 200-day simple moving average of $271.83. The company has a market capitalization of $114.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.45, a PEG ratio of 0.31 and a beta of 0.57.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The oil and gas company reported $12.54 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.11 by $2.43. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 26.74% and a net margin of 5.17%.The business had revenue of $44.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $39.47 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.28 EPS. Valero Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up 48.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Valero Energy Corporation will post 41.95 EPS for the current year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 31st were issued a dividend of $1.20 per share. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 31st. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is currently 19.92%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Eric Fisher sold 7,500 shares of Valero Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.17, for a total transaction of $2,011,275.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 19,742 shares in the company, valued at $5,294,212.14. The trade was a 27.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in VLO. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 57.6% in the 2nd quarter. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC now owns 104 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC grew its position in Valero Energy by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 6,670 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,648,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Bouchey Financial Group Ltd. grew its position in Valero Energy by 4.6% during the 2nd quarter. Bouchey Financial Group Ltd. now owns 1,016 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $265,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. M.E. Allison & CO. Inc. raised its stake in Valero Energy by 5.8% during the 2nd quarter. M.E. Allison & CO. Inc. now owns 916 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $239,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Finally, Ridgecrest Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in Valero Energy by 5.0% during the 2nd quarter. Ridgecrest Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,054 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $275,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

About Valero Energy

Valero Energy Corporation is an international energy company headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. Its primary business is refining crude oil into transportation fuels and other products, including gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, asphalt, lubricants and petrochemical feedstocks.

Valero operates refineries and related facilities in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom, and markets its products through wholesale and commercial channels in North America and other international markets.