Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) Stock Has Consensus Target Price of $335.12

Shares of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) have been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $348.81.

Several brokerages recently issued reports on VLO. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and set a $401.00 price objective on shares of Valero Energy in a report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Bank of America upped their target price on Valero Energy from $395.00 to $414.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Valero Energy from $255.00 to $411.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 14th. Zacks Research upgraded Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Valero Energy from $356.00 to $389.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 1st.

Institutional Trading of Valero Energy

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Valero Energy by 5.5% in the 2nd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 58,558 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $15,251,000 after buying an additional 3,037 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. raised its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 24.1% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 6,454 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,681,000 after acquiring an additional 1,255 shares in the last quarter. Security National Bank of SO Dak purchased a new stake in Valero Energy during the second quarter valued at approximately $108,000. Bouchey Financial Group Ltd. lifted its position in Valero Energy by 4.6% during the second quarter. Bouchey Financial Group Ltd. now owns 1,016 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $265,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Core Capital Management & Research inc. acquired a new stake in Valero Energy in the second quarter valued at approximately $80,000. 78.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Valero Energy Stock Up 3.2%

Shares of Valero Energy stock opened at $419.45 on Thursday. 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 cap of $120.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.40, a PEG ratio of 0.27 and a beta of 0.59. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $358.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $291.58. Valero Energy has a 1 year low of $155.29 and a 1 year high of $421.98.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The oil and gas company reported $12.54 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $10.11 by $2.43. Valero Energy had a net margin of 5.17% and a return on equity of 26.74%. The business had revenue of $44.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $39.47 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.28 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 48.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Valero Energy will post 49.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

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

Valero Energy Company Profile

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.