Valero Energy's (VLO) "Strong-Buy" Rating Reaffirmed at Raymond James Financial

Key Points

• Valero Energy's stock rating was reaffirmed as a "strong-buy" by Raymond James Financial, with an updated price target of $181.00, indicating a potential upside of 14.73% from its current price.
• Mizuho and Evercore ISI have also increased their price targets for Valero, with Mizuho setting a target of $190.00 and Evercore ISI at $185.00.
• The company's latest earnings report revealed a strong performance with $2.28 earnings per share, significantly exceeding the consensus estimate of $1.66.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "strong-buy" rating restated by stock analysts at Raymond James Financial in a research note issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $181.00 price target on the oil and gas company's stock, up from their prior price target of $177.00. Raymond James Financial's price target suggests a potential upside of 14.73% from the company's current price.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $166.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, September 15th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $135.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research report on Friday, September 19th. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Valero Energy in a research report on Friday. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $216.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America upgraded shares of Valero Energy from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $152.00 to $179.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $151.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Valero Energy presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $173.27.

Valero Energy Price Performance

VLO traded up $1.38 on Friday, reaching $157.77. The company had a trading volume of 794,884 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,169,723. Valero Energy has a one year low of $99.00 and a one year high of $178.43. The company has a current ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The company has a fifty day moving average of $155.50 and a 200-day moving average of $138.68. The company has a market capitalization of $49.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 65.68, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.05.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Valero Energy

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of VLO. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in Valero Energy by 276.9% in the 1st 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 acquiring an additional 7,931,018 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Valero Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $827,390,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Valero Energy by 12.0% in the 1st 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 acquiring an additional 4,155,522 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the 1st quarter worth approximately $529,864,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 34.1% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,905,145 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $647,823,000 after purchasing an additional 1,247,196 shares in the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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