Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) Given New $357.00 Price Target at The Goldman Sachs Group

Key Points

• Goldman Sachs raised its price target on Valero Energy from $286 to $357 and kept a buy rating, implying about 14.6% upside from the prior close.
• Valero shares were down 1.0% in mid-day trading at $311.53, while the stock has traded between a 52-week low of $130.78 and a high of $320.24.
• The company recently reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $4.22 versus $3.16 expected and revenue of $32.38 billion, up 7% year over year.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO - Get Free Report) had its price target raised by analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group from $286.00 to $357.00 in a research report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a "buy" rating on the oil and gas company's stock. The Goldman Sachs Group's price target points to a potential upside of 14.59% from the stock's previous close.

Several other research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $178.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $232.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Raymond James Financial boosted their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $280.00 target price on shares of Valero Energy in a report on Thursday, June 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Valero Energy from $220.00 to $292.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $262.82.

Valero Energy Stock Down 1.0%

VLO stock traded down $3.27 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $311.53. The company had a trading volume of 1,231,228 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,467,265. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $261.64 and a 200 day simple moving average of $231.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.58. The company has a market capitalization of $92.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.38 and a beta of 0.55. Valero Energy has a fifty-two week low of $130.78 and a fifty-two week high of $320.24.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The oil and gas company reported $4.22 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.16 by $1.06. The business had revenue of $32.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.38 billion. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 15.94% and a net margin of 3.37%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.89 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Valero Energy will post 32.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 7,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.17, for a total value of $2,011,275.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 19,742 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,294,212.14. This represents a 27.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Valero Energy

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. lifted its position in Valero Energy by 33.5% during the 4th quarter. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. now owns 42,376 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $6,898,000 after acquiring an additional 10,634 shares during the period. Friedenthal Financial acquired a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $954,000. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 24.7% during the fourth quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 565,171 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $92,004,000 after purchasing an additional 112,118 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 212,104 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $37,812,000 after purchasing an additional 5,694 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in Valero Energy by 51.3% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 92,328 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $14,938,000 after buying an additional 31,296 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.69% of the company's stock.

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.

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