Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Buy" from Analysts

Shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO - Get Free Report) have earned an average rating of "Buy" from the sixteen ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, thirteen have assigned a buy recommendation and two have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $151.93.

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on VLO. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Valero Energy from $160.00 to $145.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Valero Energy from $140.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Tudor Pickering raised shares of Valero Energy from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Valero Energy from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $127.00 to $154.00 in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $160.00 to $150.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 28th.

Valero Energy Trading Down 1.6%

Shares of Valero Energy stock traded down $2.13 on Monday, reaching $132.20. The company had a trading volume of 1,908,613 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,024,485. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $121.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $128.60. The firm has a market cap of $41.41 billion, a PE ratio of 15.59, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.98. 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 quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.57.

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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.16 by ($0.27). Valero Energy had a net margin of 2.13% and a return on equity of 9.58%. The company had revenue of $28.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $28.54 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.82 earnings per share. Valero Energy's revenue was down 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Valero Energy will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 20th will be paid a $1.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 20th. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.42%. Valero Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently 159.72%.

Institutional Trading of Valero Energy

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Valero Energy by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 123,356 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $14,751,000 after buying an additional 455 shares in the last quarter. Hudson Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Valero Energy by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Hudson Capital Management LLC now owns 31,792 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $3,897,000 after purchasing an additional 1,937 shares during the last quarter. Patten Group Inc. purchased a new position in Valero Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $277,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Valero Energy by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,701,232 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $1,311,864,000 after purchasing an additional 413,963 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Private Management Group Inc. increased its stake in Valero Energy by 7.4% in the fourth quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 372,451 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $45,659,000 after purchasing an additional 25,600 shares during the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.