Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) Price Target Raised to $160.00

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO - Get Free Report) had its price target raised by investment analysts at Piper Sandler from $142.00 to $160.00 in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "overweight" rating on the oil and gas company's stock. Piper Sandler's price target suggests a potential upside of 4.50% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $151.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $158.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $150.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Raymond James Financial upped their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 30th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $121.00 to $118.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Valero Energy has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $153.56.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:VLO traded down $1.70 on Thursday, reaching $153.11. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,054,926 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,088,480. 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 0.39, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 1.09. The stock's 50-day moving average is $133.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $129.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $47.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.10, a PEG ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 1.00.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO - Get Free Report) last issued 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 return on equity of 6.30% and a net margin of 0.72%. The firm had revenue of $28.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $28.54 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.82 earnings per share. The company's revenue was down 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Valero Energy will post 7.92 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Valero Energy

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 12.0% during 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 period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 6.9% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,437,765 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $1,510,586,000 after buying an additional 736,533 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted 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 valued at $1,425,754,000 after buying an additional 7,931,018 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted 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 valued at $973,119,000 after buying an additional 429,252 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,871,229 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $844,775,000 after buying an additional 100,248 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.69% of the company's stock.

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.