Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) Price Target Raised to $263.00

Key Points

• Piper Sandler raised its price target on Valero to $263 (from $236) with an "overweight" rating, implying about a 10.2% upside, while other brokers have also lifted targets (UBS $280, BMO $270) and the consensus target remains approximately $217.19 with a "Moderate Buy" rating.
• Valero beat Q4 estimates, reporting $3.82 EPS vs. $3.27 expected and $30.37B revenue vs. $28.20B, and currently trades with a market cap of $71.34B and a P/E of 31.28.
• Insider activity included a small sale by SVP Eric A. Fisher, while institutional ownership is high at about 78.7% with several large investors (e.g., HSBC, Rockefeller) increasing their stakes in the quarter.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO - Get Free Report) had its target price increased by equities research analysts at Piper Sandler from $236.00 to $263.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "overweight" rating on the oil and gas company's stock. Piper Sandler's price objective would suggest a potential upside of 10.23% from the company's current price.

VLO has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded Valero Energy from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday. Bank of America restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $195.00 target price (down from $198.00) on shares of Valero Energy in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Valero Energy from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday. UBS Group increased their price objective on Valero Energy from $215.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on Valero Energy from $190.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $217.19.

Valero Energy Price Performance

Shares of VLO stock traded down $12.90 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $238.59. The company had a trading volume of 1,236,811 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,855,043. The stock's 50-day moving average is $217.78 and its two-hundred day moving average is $188.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $71.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.62. Valero Energy has a 52 week low of $101.66 and a 52 week high of $258.43. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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 company had revenue of $30.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $28.20 billion. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 12.35% and a net margin of 1.91%.Valero Energy's quarterly revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.64 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Valero Energy will post 7.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 400 shares of Valero Energy stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.60, for a total value of $95,440.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Valero Energy

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. boosted its holdings in Valero Energy by 7.8% in the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 104,198 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $16,963,000 after acquiring an additional 7,580 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors lifted its position in Valero Energy by 32.4% during the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 6,188 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $1,007,000 after buying an additional 1,514 shares during the period. Larry Mathis Financial Planning LLC purchased a new position in Valero Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $314,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its position in Valero Energy by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 235,035 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $38,264,000 after buying an additional 12,295 shares during the period. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its position in Valero Energy by 30.1% during the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 685,506 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $111,543,000 after buying an additional 158,470 shares during the period. 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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