Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) Stock Price Up 2.9% - What's Next?

Key Points

• Valero shares rose 2.9% on Monday, closing at $356.64, with trading volume roughly in line with its daily average.
• The company reported quarterly EPS of $23.90, beating the $21.17 consensus estimate, while revenue of $46.10 billion also topped expectations and increased 43.3% year over year.
• Analysts give Valero a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $406.32. The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $1.20 per share, or $4.80 annualized.

Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO - Get Free Report) was up 2.9% during trading on Monday. The stock traded as high as $358.23 and last traded at $356.6360. Approximately 3,297,240 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 1% from the average daily volume of 3,318,337 shares. The stock had previously closed at $346.45.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Evercore cut their price objective on Valero Energy from $385.00 to $325.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 28th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $455.00 to $505.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, October 19th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $485.00 to $490.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. UBS Group restated a "buy" rating and set a $467.00 price objective (up from $355.00) on shares of Valero Energy in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. Finally, Erste Group Bank cut shares of Valero Energy from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 27th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Valero Energy has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $406.32.

Valero Energy Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $102.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.18 and a beta of 0.58. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $399.61 and a 200-day moving average price of $289.61. The company has a current ratio of 1.72, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The oil and gas company reported $23.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $21.17 by $2.73. The business had revenue of $46.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $42.71 billion. Valero Energy had a net margin of 8.44% and a return on equity of 45.90%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 43.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.66 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Valero Energy Corporation will post 57.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 21st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 24th will be given a dividend of $1.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 24th. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. Valero Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 10.80%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Valero Energy

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Blue Zone Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 2.4% in the third quarter. Blue Zone Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,027 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $398,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the period. Grove Bank & Trust boosted its holdings in Valero Energy by 1.0% during the third quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 2,608 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $1,011,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Valero Energy by 0.5% during the third quarter. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,317 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $2,061,000 after buying an additional 28 shares during the period. Sigma Planning Corp grew its position in Valero Energy by 0.4% during the third quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 7,171 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $2,779,000 after buying an additional 29 shares during the period. Finally, Modera Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Valero Energy by 3.7% in the third quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 956 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $370,000 after buying an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Valero Energy

Valero Energy Corporation is an international refiner and producer of transportation fuels and other petroleum products, headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. Its refining business processes crude oil and other feedstocks into products such as gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, asphalt and petrochemical feedstocks.

The company markets and distributes fuels to wholesale customers and through branded distribution networks. Its refining operations span the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom, with products serving customers in North America and other markets.

Valero also produces renewable fuels, including ethanol and renewable diesel.

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