Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) Raised to Strong-Buy at Wall Street Zen

by · The Markets Daily

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO – Get Free Report) was upgraded by Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued on Friday.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Valero Energy from $181.00 to $194.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 10th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $216.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 10th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Erste Group Bank assumed coverage on shares of Valero Energy in a research report on Monday, November 10th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $177.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $182.00.

Read Our Latest Analysis on VLO

Valero Energy Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of NYSE VLO opened at $176.76 on Friday. Valero Energy has a 12-month low of $99.00 and a 12-month high of $185.62. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $169.98 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $151.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $53.91 billion, a PE ratio of 36.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a current ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 23rd. The oil and gas company reported $3.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.15 by $0.51. The business had revenue of $32.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $28.80 billion. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 8.69% and a net margin of 1.21%.The company’s revenue was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.14 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Valero Energy will post 7.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Valero Energy 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 value of $1,728,540.66. Following the completion of 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Valero Energy

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in VLO. Waddell & Associates LLC boosted its stake in Valero Energy by 2.8% in the third quarter. Waddell & Associates LLC now owns 2,040 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $347,000 after buying an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. DSG Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in Valero Energy by 1.6% during the third quarter. DSG Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,803 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $647,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Cypress Capital Group lifted its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 0.3% in the third quarter. Cypress Capital Group now owns 18,786 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $3,199,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 3,381 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $576,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Becker Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Becker Capital Management Inc. now owns 11,837 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,015,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Valero Energy Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.

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