Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) Given "Hold" Rating at Jefferies Financial Group

Key Points

• Jefferies reaffirmed its “Hold” rating on Valero Energy and set a $401 price target, implying approximately 1.85% upside. Despite this, the broader analyst consensus is “Moderate Buy,” with an average target of $328.88.
• Valero reported strong quarterly results, earning $12.54 per share versus the $10.11 consensus estimate, while revenue rose 48.8% year over year to $44.48 billion.
• Valero shares opened at $393.71, near their 12-month high of $419.04, and institutional investors own a significant 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "hold" rating reissued by analysts at Jefferies Financial Group in a research report issued on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $401.00 price objective on the oil and gas company's stock. Jefferies Financial Group's price objective would suggest a potential upside of 1.85% from the stock's current price.

Several other research firms also recently commented on VLO. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $338.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Valero Energy from $286.00 to $357.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $329.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 3rd. Mizuho increased their price objective on Valero Energy from $289.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Raymond James Financial raised their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $350.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, September 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Valero Energy currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $328.88.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:VLO opened at $393.71 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $113.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.34, a PEG ratio of 0.28 and a beta of 0.57. The firm's 50-day moving average is $341.51 and its 200 day moving average is $280.01. Valero Energy has a 12 month low of $155.29 and a 12 month high of $419.04. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The oil and gas company reported $12.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $10.11 by $2.43. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 26.74% and a net margin of 5.17%.The firm had revenue of $44.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $39.47 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.28 earnings per share. Valero Energy's quarterly revenue was up 48.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Valero Energy will post 48.58 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Eric Fisher sold 7,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.17, for a total transaction of $2,011,275.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 19,742 shares in the company, valued at $5,294,212.14. This represents a 27.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in Valero Energy by 11.4% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 5,033,310 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $1,243,630,000 after purchasing an additional 516,975 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $1,111,542,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake 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 worth $922,728,000 after buying an additional 394,693 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 9.4% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,969,320 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $733,660,000 after buying an additional 254,604 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its stake in Valero Energy by 18.4% in the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,842,339 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $702,285,000 after acquiring an additional 442,177 shares during the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Valero Energy Company Profile

Valero Energy Corporation is an international energy company headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. Its primary business is refining crude oil into transportation fuels and other products, including gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, asphalt, lubricants and petrochemical feedstocks.

Valero operates refineries and related facilities in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom, and markets its products through wholesale and commercial channels in North America and other international markets.

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