Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) Given Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Valero Energy Corporation has been given an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by seventeen analysts, with a target price of $154.47 per share.
• The company reported earnings of $2.28 per share, exceeding analysts' expectations of $1.66, along with a revenue of $29.89 billion for the last quarter.
• Valero Energy recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.13 per share, indicating a dividend yield of 3.1% based on current share prices.

Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO - Get Free Report) has received a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the seventeen analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $154.4667.

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Raymond James Financial upped their price target on Valero Energy from $155.00 to $172.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Valero Energy from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. UBS Group upped their price target on Valero Energy from $164.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Citigroup downgraded Valero Energy from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their price target for the company from $134.00 to $150.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Barclays boosted 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.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Valero Energy

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Valero Energy by 12.0% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 38,881,222 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $5,135,043,000 after buying an additional 4,155,522 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Valero Energy by 2.5% in the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,724,707 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $1,576,035,000 after buying an additional 286,942 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 276.9% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 10,795,436 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $1,425,754,000 after purchasing an additional 7,931,018 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 16.7% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,141,511 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $1,089,897,000 after purchasing an additional 1,164,217 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 7,938,335 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $973,119,000 after purchasing an additional 429,252 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.69% of the company's stock.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

Shares of Valero Energy stock opened at $147.10 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $140.88 and a 200-day simple moving average of $131.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.62. The company has a market cap of $45.70 billion, a PE ratio of 61.29, a P/E/G ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 1.03. Valero Energy has a one year low of $99.00 and a one year high of $155.12.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The oil and gas company reported $2.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.62. The firm had revenue of $29.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $27 billion. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 5.76% and a net margin of 0.62%.The firm's quarterly revenue was down 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.71 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Valero Energy will post 7.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be paid a $1.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. Valero Energy's payout ratio is currently 188.33%.

Valero Energy Company Profile

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.

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