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

Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the sixteen ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $162.60.

A number of analysts have recently commented on VLO shares. Scotiabank cut their price target on Valero Energy from $173.00 to $141.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Piper Sandler downgraded Valero Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $169.00 to $123.00 in a report on Friday, September 20th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on Valero Energy from $175.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Mizuho lowered their price objective on Valero Energy from $175.00 to $171.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Valero Energy from $172.00 to $151.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:VLO opened at $142.34 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.60 billion, a PE ratio of 8.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.71 and a beta of 1.39. Valero Energy has a twelve month low of $119.88 and a twelve month high of $184.79. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $141.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $152.80.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The oil and gas company reported $2.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.60 by $0.11. Valero Energy had a net margin of 4.25% and a return on equity of 21.01%. The business had revenue of $34.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $32.97 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $5.40 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Valero Energy will post 9.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 1st were paid a $1.07 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 1st. This represents a $4.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.01%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 24.46%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Creative Planning raised its position in shares of Valero Energy by 3.8% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 84,573 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $11,420,000 after purchasing an additional 3,097 shares during the period. Wesbanco Bank Inc. increased its stake in Valero Energy by 9.0% during the 3rd quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 6,473 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $874,000 after purchasing an additional 535 shares in the last quarter. Stablepoint Partners LLC raised its holdings in Valero Energy by 2.2% during the third quarter. Stablepoint Partners LLC now owns 11,807 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,594,000 after buying an additional 258 shares during the last quarter. Sapient Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 0.8% in the third quarter. Sapient Capital LLC now owns 11,314 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,528,000 after buying an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 21.7% during the third quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 521 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $70,000 after buying an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Valero Energy

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.