Brokerages Set Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) Target Price at $154.46

Shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the fifteen analysts that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $154.46.

VLO has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Tudor Pickering raised Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $146.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Piper Sandler upgraded Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Valero Energy from $160.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on Valero Energy from $192.00 to $176.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th.

Institutional Trading of Valero Energy

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in VLO. Quad Cities Investment Group LLC raised its stake in Valero Energy by 1.6% in the third quarter. Quad Cities Investment Group LLC now owns 4,851 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $655,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 0.9% during the third quarter. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,784 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,169,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors raised its position 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 purchasing an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. New Century Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in Valero Energy by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. New Century Financial Group LLC now owns 1,708 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $231,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Segment Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Valero Energy by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Segment Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,947 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $606,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Valero Energy Trading Up 3.4 %

VLO stock opened at $135.49 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $130.47 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $136.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. Valero Energy has a twelve month low of $116.84 and a twelve month high of $184.79.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The oil and gas company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.50. Valero Energy had a net margin of 2.13% and a return on equity of 9.58%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Valero Energy will post 7.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 30th will be issued a $1.13 dividend. This is a positive change from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.07. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.34%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 30th. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is currently 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.