Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) Stock Rating Upgraded by Wall Street Zen
by Doug Wharley · The Cerbat GemValero Energy (NYSE:VLO – Get Free Report) was upgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued on Saturday.
Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Citigroup raised their price target on Valero Energy from $190.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Valero Energy from $197.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Valero Energy from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Bank of America restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $195.00 price target (down from $198.00) on shares of Valero Energy in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Valero Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Valero Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $210.80.
Get Our Latest Stock Report on VLO
Valero Energy Stock Performance
VLO opened at $244.02 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $215.18 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $187.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.64 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The firm has a market cap of $72.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.94, a PEG ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.62. Valero Energy has a 1-year low of $99.00 and a 1-year high of $258.43.
Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The oil and gas company reported $3.82 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.27 by $0.55. The firm had revenue of $30.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $28.20 billion. Valero Energy had a net margin of 1.91% and a return on equity of 12.35%. The company’s revenue was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.64 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Valero Energy will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Insider Buying and Selling
In other Valero Energy news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 8,311 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.69, for a total transaction of $1,892,331.59. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 42,242 shares in the company, valued at $9,618,080.98. This trade represents a 16.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of VLO. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Valero Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $1,111,542,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership purchased a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the 3rd quarter worth $275,239,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 2,635.7% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 950,527 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $154,736,000 after buying an additional 915,782 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 49.3% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,696,811 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $276,224,000 after buying an additional 560,116 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of Valero Energy by 7.5% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,668,210 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $922,728,000 after buying an additional 394,693 shares in the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
About Valero Energy
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.