Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) Given New $255.00 Price Target at TD Cowen

Key Points

• TD Cowen raised Valero Energy's price target from $247 to $255 while maintaining a "hold" rating, implying roughly a 6.9% upside from the current share price.
• Multiple analysts have lifted targets (Barclays to $261, Piper Sandler to $263, Goldman to $237), leaving consensus at a Moderate Buy with an average target of $235.94.
• Valero beat Q4 estimates with $3.82 EPS (vs. $3.27 est.) and $30.37B revenue, and its shares traded near $238.47 (market cap ≈ $71.3B) amid ~78.7% institutional ownership.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO - Get Free Report) had its target price upped by analysts at TD Cowen from $247.00 to $255.00 in a report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a "hold" rating on the oil and gas company's stock. TD Cowen's price target indicates a potential upside of 6.93% from the stock's current price.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $182.00 to $222.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $203.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Valero Energy from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, April 4th. Barclays raised 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. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $236.00 to $263.00 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, ten have issued a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Valero Energy has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $235.94.

Valero Energy Trading Up 1.1%

NYSE:VLO traded up $2.62 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $238.47. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,209,115 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,744,559. The firm has a market capitalization of $71.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.23, a PEG ratio of 0.47 and a beta of 0.62. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $228.55 and a 200-day simple moving average of $194.37. Valero Energy has a 1 year low of $112.23 and a 1 year high of $258.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.64.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The oil and gas company reported $3.82 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.27 by $0.55. The company had revenue of $30.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $28.20 billion. Valero Energy had a net margin of 1.91% and a return on equity of 12.35%. The firm's revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.64 EPS. Research analysts expect that Valero Energy will post 19.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Valero Energy

In other news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 400 shares of Valero Energy stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.60, for a total transaction of $95,440.00. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.36% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Valero Energy

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 18,177,191 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $2,959,065,000 after purchasing an additional 163,975 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,950,982 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $1,945,500,000 after purchasing an additional 63,919 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,111,542,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 7.5% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,668,210 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $922,728,000 after purchasing an additional 394,693 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 4,143,672 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $705,502,000 after purchasing an additional 209,597 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.69% of the company's stock.

About Valero Energy

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.

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