Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) Upgraded by Bank of America to "Buy" Rating

Key Points

• Bank of America upgraded Valero Energy from a "neutral" to a "buy" rating, with a price target of $179.00, suggesting a potential upside of 16.09% from the current stock price.
• Valero Energy reported earnings of $2.28 per share, significantly beating analysts' estimates of $1.66, although revenue was down 13.3% compared to last year.
• Currently, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from analysts, with two ratings as Strong Buy, eleven as Buy, and four as Hold.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO - Get Free Report) was upgraded by Bank of America from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a report issued on Wednesday,Finviz reports. The brokerage currently has a $179.00 price target on the oil and gas company's stock. Bank of America's price objective would indicate a potential upside of 16.09% from the stock's current price.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Valero Energy from $158.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Valero Energy from $151.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Valero Energy from $159.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. TD Cowen lowered Valero Energy from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $118.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Citigroup lowered Valero Energy from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $134.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $156.40.

Valero Energy Trading Up 1.4%

NYSE VLO opened at $154.20 on Wednesday. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $142.24 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $131.67. Valero Energy has a twelve month low of $99.00 and a twelve month high of $155.12. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The company has a market capitalization of $47.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 64.25, a PEG ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 1.10.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The oil and gas company reported $2.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.62. The company had revenue of $29.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $27 billion. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 5.76% and a net margin of 0.62%.Valero Energy's revenue for the quarter was down 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.71 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Valero Energy will post 7.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Valero Energy

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VLO. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in Valero Energy by 57.3% in the 4th quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 8,783 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $1,077,000 after acquiring an additional 3,198 shares in the last quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC lifted its position in Valero Energy by 19.3% in the 4th quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 1,950 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $239,000 after acquiring an additional 315 shares in the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC bought a new position in Valero Energy in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $181,000. Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its position in Valero Energy by 47.1% in the 4th quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 132,078 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $16,191,000 after acquiring an additional 42,316 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Crestline Management LP bought a new position in Valero Energy in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $585,000. 78.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.

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