Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) Stock Price Down 8.6% - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• Valero shares plunged about 8.6% on Friday to roughly $220.93, trading 793,262 shares — down ~79% from its average daily volume.
• Wall Street remains broadly positive with an average MarketBeat rating of "Moderate Buy" and a mean target of $230, while several firms have raised targets (e.g., Wells Fargo to $292, Piper Sandler to $263, Goldman to $237).
• Fundamentals: Valero beat estimates with Q results of $3.82 EPS on $30.37B revenue, recently raised its quarterly dividend to $1.20 (annualized $4.80, ~2.1% yield), though revenue was down 1.2% year‑over‑year.

Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO - Get Free Report)'s share price traded down 8.6% on Friday . The company traded as low as $222.73 and last traded at $220.9290. 793,262 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 79% from the average session volume of 3,773,780 shares. The stock had previously closed at $241.74.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on VLO shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Valero Energy in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Valero Energy from $236.00 to $263.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Valero Energy from $220.00 to $292.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Valero Energy from $203.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Valero Energy from $197.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Two equities research 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 data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $230.00.

Valero Energy Trading Down 7.2%

The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $224.89 and a 200 day simple moving average of $191.23. The stock has a market cap of $67.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.36, a PEG ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 0.62. 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 announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The oil and gas company reported $3.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.27 by $0.55. The firm had revenue of $30.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $28.20 billion. Valero Energy had a net margin of 1.91% and a return on equity of 12.35%. Valero Energy's revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.64 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Valero Energy Corporation will post 7.92 EPS for the current year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 9th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 5th were given a $1.20 dividend. This is an increase from Valero Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $1.13. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 5th. Valero Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.83%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Valero Energy news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 8,311 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.69, for a total value of $1,892,331.59. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 42,242 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,618,080.98. This trade represents a 16.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.36% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Valero Energy by 17.4% during the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 160,794 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $27,377,000 after acquiring an additional 23,859 shares during the last quarter. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the third quarter worth about $4,534,000. Tema Etfs LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the third quarter worth about $1,669,000. Cerity Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Valero Energy by 9.0% during the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 104,859 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $17,853,000 after acquiring an additional 8,638 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service increased its position in shares of Valero Energy by 3.6% during the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 491,134 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $83,620,000 after acquiring an additional 17,165 shares during the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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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