Q1 EPS Estimates for Valero Energy Lowered by Zacks Research

Key Points

• Zacks Research has reduced its earnings per share estimate for Valero Energy for Q1 2027 from $2.13 to $2.10, while the consensus estimate for the full year is $7.92 per share.
• Valero recently declared a quarterly dividend of $1.13 per share, yielding approximately 3.3%, and its payout ratio stands at 188.33%.
• As of the latest reports, Valero has received mostly favorable ratings, with ten buy ratings and two strong buy ratings, leading to an average target price of $154.47.

Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO - Free Report) - Stock analysts at Zacks Research dropped their Q1 2027 EPS estimates for shares of Valero Energy in a research note issued on Thursday, August 14th. Zacks Research analyst Team now forecasts that the oil and gas company will post earnings per share of $2.10 for the quarter, down from their prior estimate of $2.13. The consensus estimate for Valero Energy's current full-year earnings is $7.92 per share.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The oil and gas company reported $2.28 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.62. The business had revenue of $29.89 billion during 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%.The business's revenue was down 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.71 earnings per share.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on VLO. Citigroup downgraded shares of Valero Energy from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $134.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $151.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. UBS Group upped their price target on Valero Energy from $164.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Valero Energy from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Raymond James Financial boosted their price objective on Valero Energy from $155.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $154.47.

Valero Energy Price Performance

VLO stock traded up $2.5010 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $140.4310. The stock had a trading volume of 2,082,889 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,664,789. Valero Energy has a 52-week low of $99.00 and a 52-week high of $155.12. 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's fifty day simple moving average is $140.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $130.82. The company has a market cap of $43.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 1.03.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Zacks Investment Management lifted its holdings in Valero Energy by 7.6% during the 4th quarter. Zacks Investment Management now owns 4,568 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $560,000 after buying an additional 322 shares during the last quarter. Forum Financial Management LP lifted its stake in Valero Energy by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 6,361 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $780,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in Valero Energy by 11.1% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 481,526 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $59,030,000 after purchasing an additional 48,130 shares during the last quarter. Norinchukin Bank The grew its position in shares of Valero Energy by 11.8% in the 4th quarter. Norinchukin Bank The now owns 15,418 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $1,890,000 after buying an additional 1,632 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Valero Energy by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 83,775 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $10,270,000 after buying an additional 489 shares during the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, July 31st will be issued a dividend of $1.13 per share. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 31st. Valero Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 188.33%.

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.