Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) Reaches New 52-Week High on Analyst Upgrade

Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday after Citigroup raised their price target on the stock from $190.00 to $212.00. Citigroup currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Valero Energy traded as high as $204.14 and last traded at $201.43, with a volume of 1948385 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $202.68.

VLO has been the subject of several other reports. Mizuho reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $192.00 price objective (up from $190.00) on shares of Valero Energy in a report on Friday, December 12th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Valero Energy from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Valero Energy from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Bank of America reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $195.00 price target (down from $198.00) on shares of Valero Energy in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and set a $195.00 price objective (up previously from $181.00) on shares of Valero Energy in a research note on Friday, October 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Valero Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $187.67.

Insider Transactions at Valero Energy

In related news, CFO Jason W. Fraser sold 9,933 shares of the 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 sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 134,196 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,352,787.92. This represents a 6.89% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Valero Energy

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 2.5% during the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,724,707 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,576,035,000 after purchasing an additional 286,942 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 16.7% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,141,511 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,089,897,000 after acquiring an additional 1,164,217 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Valero Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,111,542,000. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in Valero Energy by 7.5% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,668,210 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $922,728,000 after purchasing an additional 394,693 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in Valero Energy by 5.3% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 4,143,672 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $705,502,000 after purchasing an additional 209,597 shares during the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $178.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $166.63. The firm has a market cap of $62.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.69, a P/E/G ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.60.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The oil and gas company reported $3.82 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.27 by $0.55. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 1.91%.The company had revenue of $30.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $28.20 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.64 earnings per share. Valero Energy’s revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Valero Energy Corporation will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 5th will be given a dividend of $1.20 per share. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. This is a positive change from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.13. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 5th. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.83%.

Valero Energy Company Profile

Valero Energy Corporation is a San Antonio, Texas–based integrated downstream energy company that manufactures and markets transportation fuels, petrochemical feedstocks and other industrial products. The company’s operations focus on refining crude oil into finished fuels such as gasoline, diesel and jet fuel, as well as producing asphalt and other refined product streams for commercial and industrial customers.

In addition to refining, Valero has significant operations in renewable fuels, including the production of ethanol and other biofuels, and it manages an extensive logistics network of pipelines, terminals, rail and marine assets to move feedstocks and finished products.