Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) Earns Underperform Rating from Wolfe Research

Key Points

Error: One or more errors occurred.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "underperform" rating reissued by research analysts at Wolfe Research in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, MarketBeat.com reports. They currently have a $203.00 price target on the oil and gas company's stock. Wolfe Research's target price indicates a potential downside of 10.21% from the stock's current price.

VLO has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Argus upgraded shares of Valero Energy to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $215.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 6th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Valero Energy in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $184.00 to $261.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Valero Energy has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $228.31.

Valero Energy Stock Up 1.1%

NYSE:VLO opened at $226.10 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $67.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.59, a PEG ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 0.62. Valero Energy has a 1-year low of $106.83 and a 1-year high of $258.43. The company's fifty day moving average price is $225.81 and its 200-day moving average price is $192.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.64 and a quick ratio of 1.11.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The oil and gas company reported $3.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.27 by $0.55. The firm had revenue of $30.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $28.20 billion. Valero Energy had a net margin of 1.91% and a return on equity of 12.35%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.64 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Valero Energy will post 18.36 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Valero Energy

In other Valero Energy news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 8,311 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.69, for a total transaction of $1,892,331.59. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 42,242 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,618,080.98. This trade represents a 16.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Valero Energy

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VLO. Woodline Partners LP lifted its holdings in Valero Energy by 40.7% during the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 26,747 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $3,532,000 after purchasing an additional 7,735 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Valero Energy by 13.0% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,929 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $259,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares in the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL purchased a new position in Valero Energy during the second quarter valued at $528,000. Sei Investments Co. raised its position in shares of Valero Energy by 11.3% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 269,043 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $36,165,000 after buying an additional 27,291 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina raised its position in shares of Valero Energy by 0.9% in the second quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 145,810 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $19,600,000 after buying an additional 1,338 shares during the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Valero Energy Company Profile

Valero Energy Corporation is a San Antonio, Texas–based integrated downstream energy company that manufactures and markets transportation fuels, petrochemical feedstocks and other industrial products. The company's operations focus on refining crude oil into finished fuels such as gasoline, diesel and jet fuel, as well as producing asphalt and other refined product streams for commercial and industrial customers.

In addition to refining, Valero has significant operations in renewable fuels, including the production of ethanol and other biofuels, and it manages an extensive logistics network of pipelines, terminals, rail and marine assets to move feedstocks and finished products.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.