Barclays Issues Positive Forecast for Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) Stock Price

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO - Get Free Report) had its price objective upped by analysts at Barclays from $140.00 to $141.00 in a note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "overweight" rating on the oil and gas company's stock. Barclays's target price points to a potential upside of 5.14% from the company's previous close.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on VLO. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $144.00 to $140.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $160.00 to $159.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $160.00 to $150.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 28th. TD Cowen lowered their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $121.00 to $118.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Tudor Pickering upgraded Valero Energy from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $151.93.

Valero Energy Price Performance

VLO stock traded down $0.21 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $134.11. 897,987 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,031,705. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $120.66 and a 200 day moving average price of $128.49. Valero Energy has a 52 week low of $99.00 and a 52 week high of $167.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.00 billion, a PE ratio of 15.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.98.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The oil and gas company reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.16 by ($0.27). The business had revenue of $28.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $28.54 billion. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 9.58% and a net margin of 2.13%. Valero Energy's quarterly revenue was down 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.82 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Valero Energy will post 7.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Valero Energy

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Valero Energy by 12.0% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 38,881,222 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $5,135,043,000 after purchasing an additional 4,155,522 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 6.9% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,437,765 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $1,510,586,000 after buying an additional 736,533 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 276.9% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 10,795,436 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $1,425,754,000 after buying an additional 7,931,018 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 7,938,335 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $973,119,000 after acquiring an additional 429,252 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Valero Energy by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,871,229 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $844,775,000 after acquiring an additional 100,248 shares in the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.