Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) Receives Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO - Get Free Report) have received an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the seventeen research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $149.80.

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on VLO shares. Mizuho cut their target price on Valero Energy from $165.00 to $158.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Piper Sandler cut their target price on Valero Energy from $149.00 to $144.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Valero Energy from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their target price for the company from $115.00 to $127.00 in a research report on Monday. Tudor Pickering raised Valero Energy from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Valero Energy from $160.00 to $159.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st.

Institutional Trading of Valero Energy

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in VLO. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the 4th quarter worth about $669,400,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 16.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 34,725,700 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $4,257,024,000 after purchasing an additional 4,805,133 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 15,395.5% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,355,699 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $179,047,000 after purchasing an additional 1,346,950 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Valero Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $132,469,000. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new stake in shares of Valero Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $98,376,000. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Valero Energy Stock Up 0.7 %

Valero Energy stock traded up $0.82 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $115.57. 1,428,545 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,008,208. The company's fifty day moving average price is $122.18 and its 200-day moving average price is $129.42. The company has a market cap of $36.40 billion, a PE ratio of 13.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 1.11. Valero Energy has a fifty-two week low of $99.00 and a fifty-two week high of $167.78.

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

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.