Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) Price Target Raised to $411.00

Key Points

• Morgan Stanley raised Valero Energy’s price target to $411 from $255 while maintaining an “equal weight” rating, implying 7.23% upside from the prior close.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive, with Valero carrying a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $310.94.
• Valero reported strong quarterly results, posting adjusted EPS of $12.54 versus the $10.11 estimate and revenue of $44.48 billion, up 48.8% year over year.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO - Get Free Report) had its price objective boosted by equities research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $255.00 to $411.00 in a report issued on Monday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an "equal weight" rating on the oil and gas company's stock. Morgan Stanley's price target points to a potential upside of 7.23% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $289.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Erste Group Bank downgraded Valero Energy from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, August 27th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $259.00 to $302.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Valero Energy from $356.00 to $389.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Valero Energy from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $310.94.

Valero Energy Price Performance

NYSE:VLO traded down $7.12 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $383.30. 2,052,884 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,279,583. The business's 50-day moving average price is $327.00 and its 200 day moving average price is $271.83. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The company has a market cap of $110.36 billion, a PE ratio of 15.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.31 and a beta of 0.57. Valero Energy has a 12-month low of $155.29 and a 12-month high of $399.76.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The oil and gas company reported $12.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $10.11 by $2.43. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 26.74% and a net margin of 5.17%.The company had revenue of $44.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $39.47 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.28 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 48.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Valero Energy will post 41.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Valero Energy 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 value of $2,011,275.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 19,742 shares in the company, valued at $5,294,212.14. This represents a 27.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.36% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Valero Energy

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Bouchey Financial Group Ltd. lifted its stake in Valero Energy by 4.6% in the 2nd quarter. Bouchey Financial Group Ltd. now owns 1,016 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $265,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Core Capital Management & Research inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Valero Energy in the second quarter worth about $80,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 9.2% in the second quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 27,186 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $7,080,000 after buying an additional 2,299 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its stake in Valero Energy by 81.1% during the second quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 46,117 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $12,011,000 after buying an additional 20,649 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service boosted its stake in Valero Energy by 1.0% during the second quarter. National Pension Service now owns 549,675 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $143,157,000 after buying an additional 5,609 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.69% of the company's stock.

About Valero Energy

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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