Weiss Ratings Reiterates Hold (C) Rating for Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO)

Key Points

• Weiss Ratings has restated its "hold (c)" rating for Valero Energy (NYSE: VLO) in a recent research report.
• Analysts have provided varied ratings with Barclays increasing their price target to $169, and Evercore ISI raising it to $185, whereas Citigroup downgraded it to "neutral" with a target of $150.
• Valero Energy reported $2.28 earnings per share for the previous quarter, surpassing estimates, but showed a 13.3% decline in quarterly revenue year-over-year.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "hold (c)" rating restated by investment analysts at Weiss Ratings in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday,Weiss Ratings reports.

VLO has been the topic of a number of other reports. Barclays upped their price objective on Valero Energy from $151.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Valero Energy from $135.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research note on Friday, September 19th. Citigroup cut Valero Energy from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $134.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Bank of America raised Valero Energy from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $152.00 to $179.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. Finally, TD Cowen cut Valero Energy from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $118.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $168.07.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

Shares of VLO traded down $0.63 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $162.54. The stock had a trading volume of 907,365 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,216,472. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 1.62 and a quick ratio of 1.11. Valero Energy has a 12 month low of $99.00 and a 12 month high of $178.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.49 billion, a PE ratio of 67.65, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.05. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $151.99 and a 200 day moving average price of $137.36.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $29.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $27 billion. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 5.76% and a net margin of 0.62%.Valero Energy's quarterly revenue was down 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.71 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Valero Energy will post 7.92 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Valero Energy

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wayfinding Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Valero Energy in the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Hoey Investments Inc. purchased a new stake in Valero Energy in the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. GFG Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Valero Energy in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. raised its position in Valero Energy by 156.6% in the first quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 213 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the period. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its position in Valero Energy by 1,277.8% in the second quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 248 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 230 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.69% of the company's stock.

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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