Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) Price Target Raised to $338.00

Key Points

• TD Cowen raised its price target on Valero Energy from $292 to $338 while keeping a hold rating, implying about 8.22% upside from the current share price.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed but generally constructive: the stock has a consensus Moderate Buy rating, and the average price target across analysts is $255.76, below TD Cowen’s new target.
• Valero reported strong quarterly results with EPS of $4.22 versus the $3.16 estimate and revenue of $32.38 billion, both ahead of expectations, while shares were trading near their 52-week high.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO - Get Free Report) had its price objective lifted by equities research analysts at TD Cowen from $292.00 to $338.00 in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a "hold" rating on the oil and gas company's stock. TD Cowen's price objective suggests a potential upside of 8.22% from the stock's current price.

VLO has been the topic of several other research reports. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $261.00 to $279.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. BMO Capital Markets increased 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, April 6th. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an "underperform" rating and set a $203.00 target price on shares of Valero Energy in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $220.00 to $292.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $280.00 price objective on shares of Valero Energy in a report on Thursday, June 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $255.76.

Valero Energy Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of Valero Energy stock traded down $0.97 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $312.34. 514,850 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,463,496. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $260.29 and its 200 day simple moving average is $230.82. The firm has a market cap of $92.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.37 and a beta of 0.55. Valero Energy has a 52-week low of $130.78 and a 52-week high of $318.22.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.17, for a total transaction of $2,011,275.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 19,742 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,294,212.14. This represents a 27.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Valero Energy

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of VLO. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the fourth quarter worth $1,111,542,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership acquired a new position in shares of Valero Energy during the third quarter valued at $275,239,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 2,635.7% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 950,527 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $154,736,000 after purchasing an additional 915,782 shares in the last quarter. Amundi raised its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 45.3% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 2,584,976 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $638,695,000 after purchasing an additional 806,018 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Valero Energy by 49.3% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,696,811 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $276,224,000 after purchasing an additional 560,116 shares during the period. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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