Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) have received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the fifteen research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have given a hold recommendation, eleven have assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $156.08.

Several research firms have commented on VLO. Tudor Pickering upgraded Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on Valero Energy from $149.00 to $144.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 7th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Valero Energy from $160.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Mizuho reduced their price objective on Valero Energy from $165.00 to $158.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th.

Institutional Trading of Valero Energy

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,784 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,169,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors lifted its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 4,323 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $530,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the period. Segment Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Segment Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,947 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $606,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the period. Silver Coast Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Silver Coast Investments LLC now owns 5,070 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $622,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the period. Finally, Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators lifted its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 6.4% in the 3rd quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 1,420 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $192,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Valero Energy Price Performance

Shares of VLO stock opened at $123.05 on Wednesday. Valero Energy has a 52-week low of $116.84 and a 52-week high of $184.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.36. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $132.92 and a 200 day moving average price of $134.06.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The oil and gas company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.50. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 9.58% and a net margin of 2.13%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Valero Energy will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 30th were given a $1.13 dividend. This is a boost from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.07. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 30th. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.67%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 53.30%.

Valero Energy Company Profile

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.