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Valero Energy (VLO) Stock Forecast & Price Target

Valero Energy logo
$443.64 +19.54 (+4.61%)
Closing price 03:59 PM Eastern
Extended Trading
$444.55 +0.91 (+0.21%)
As of 04:08 PM Eastern
Extended trading is trading that happens on electronic markets outside of regular trading hours. This is a fair market value extended hours price provided by Massive. Learn more.

Valero Energy - Analysts' Recommendations and Stock Price Forecast (2026)

Consensus Rating

Sell
1
Hold
8
Buy
11

Based on 20 Wall Street analysts who have issued ratings for Valero Energy in the last 12 months, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy." Out of the 20 analysts, 1 has given a sell rating, 8 have given a hold rating, 9 have given a buy rating, and 2 have given a strong buy rating for VLO.

Consensus Price Target

$365.63
-17.59% Downside
According to the 20 analysts' twelve-month price targets for Valero Energy, the average price target is $365.63. The highest price target for VLO is $467.00, while the lowest price target for VLO is $200.00. The average price target represents a forecasted downside of -17.59% from the current price of $443.64.
MarketBeat calculates consensus analyst ratings for stocks using the most recent rating from each Wall Street analyst that has rated a stock within the last twelve months. Each analyst's rating is normalized to a standardized rating score of 1 (sell), 2 (hold), 3 (buy) or 4 (strong buy). Analyst consensus ratings scores are calculated using the mean average of the number of normalized sell, hold, buy and strong buy ratings from Wall Street analysts. Each stock's consensus analyst rating is derived from its calculated consensus ratings score (0 to .5 = Strong Sell, .5 to 1 = Sell, 1 to 1.5 = Reduce, 1.5 to 2.5 = Hold, 2.5 to 3.0 = Moderate Buy, 3.0 to 3.5 = Buy, >3.5 = Strong Buy). MarketBeat's consensus price targets are a mean average of the most recent available price targets set by each analyst that has set a price target for the stock in the last twelve months. MarketBeat's consensus ratings and consensus price targets may differ from those calculated by other firms due to differences in methodology and available data.
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VLO Analyst Ratings Over Time

TypeCurrent Forecast
10/8/25 to 10/8/26
1 Month Ago
9/8/25 to 9/8/26
3 Months Ago
7/10/25 to 7/10/26
1 Year Ago
10/8/24 to 10/8/25
Strong Buy
2 Strong Buy rating(s)
2 Strong Buy rating(s)
1 Strong Buy rating(s)
2 Strong Buy rating(s)
Buy
9 Buy rating(s)
10 Buy rating(s)
10 Buy rating(s)
9 Buy rating(s)
Hold
8 Hold rating(s)
8 Hold rating(s)
9 Hold rating(s)
6 Hold rating(s)
Sell
1 Sell rating(s)
1 Sell rating(s)
1 Sell rating(s)
0 Sell rating(s)
Consensus Price Target$365.63$301.76$247.59$168.07
Forecasted Upside-17.59% Downside-21.30% Downside-11.75% Downside3.49% Upside
Consensus RatingModerate BuyModerate BuyModerate BuyModerate Buy

VLO Analyst Recommendations By Month

The chart below shows how a company's ratings by analysts have changed over time. Each bar represents the previous year of ratings for that month. Within each bar, the sell ratings are shown in red, the hold ratings are shown in yellow, the buy ratings are shown in green, and the strong buy ratings are shown in dark green.
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VLO Price Targets by Month

The chart below shows how a company's share price and consensus price target have changed over time. The dark blue line represents the company's actual price. The lighter blue line represents the stock's consensus price target. The even lighter blue range in the background of the two lines represents the low price target and the high price target for each stock.
Skip Chart and View Analyst Price Target HistorySkip Chart & View Price History Table

Valero Energy Stock vs. The Competition

TypeValero EnergyEnergy CompaniesBroader Market
Consensus Rating Score
2.60
2.44
2.52
Consensus RatingModerate BuyHoldModerate Buy
Predicted Upside-17.59% Downside45.90% Upside19.84% Upside
News Sentiment Rating
Positive News

See Recent VLO News
Positive News
Neutral News
Report Date
0 Results
DateBrokerageAnalystActionRatingPrice TargetReport Date
Upside/Downside
Details
10/8/2026
Mizuho logo
Mizuho
3 of 5 stars
Nitin Kumar
Nitin Kumar
5 of 5 stars
Boost TargetNeutral$300.00 ➝ $434.00+2.48%
10/6/2026
UBS Group AG logo
UBS Group
4 of 5 stars
Manav Gupta
5 of 5 stars
Reiterated RatingBuy$467.00+12.35%
10/6/2026
Barclays PLC logo
Barclays
3 of 5 stars
Theresa Chen
Theresa Chen
4 of 5 stars
Boost TargetOverweight$323.00 ➝ $441.00+5.64%
10/2/2026Boost TargetNeutral$395.00 ➝ $414.00+1.49%
9/23/2026Boost TargetBuy$365.00 ➝ $457.00+21.27%
9/22/2026Reiterated RatingBuy ➝ Hold$401.00+1.85%
9/14/2026Boost TargetStrong-Buy$350.00 ➝ $450.00+17.82%
9/14/2026Boost TargetEqual Weight$255.00 ➝ $411.00+7.17%
9/3/2026Boost TargetOverweight$329.00 ➝ $435.00+17.19%
9/1/2026Boost TargetOverweight$356.00 ➝ $389.00+8.90%
8/27/2026 DowngradeBuy ➝ Hold
8/6/2026 UpgradeBuy (B-) ➝ Buy (B)
8/4/2026 UpgradeHold ➝ Strong-Buy
8/3/2026Boost TargetHold$338.00 ➝ $350.00+11.86%
7/14/2026Boost TargetNeutral$259.00 ➝ $302.00+1.56%
4/22/2026Boost TargetSector Outperform$178.00 ➝ $226.00-3.39%
4/21/2026Reiterated RatingPeer Perform ➝ Underperform$203.00-10.21%
4/6/2026Boost TargetOutperform$230.00 ➝ $270.00+12.00%
2/2/2026 UpgradeHold
1/8/2026Boost TargetOverweight$197.00 ➝ $200.00+5.03%
9/19/2025Boost TargetIn-Line$135.00 ➝ $185.00+14.67%
2/4/2025UpgradeHold ➝ Strong-Buy

Analyst ratings data on MarketBeat is provided by Benzinga and other data providers. This page was last refreshed on Thursday at 04:08 PM ET.


Should I Buy Valero Energy Stock? VLO Pros and Cons Explained

These pros and cons were generated based on recent news and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate insights. They were last updated on Tuesday, October 6, 2026. Please send any questions or comments about these Valero Energy pros and cons to contact@marketbeat.com.

Valero Energy
Bull Case

green Wall Street bull icon

Here are some ways that investors could benefit from investing in Valero Energy Co.:

  • Valero Energy Co. recently reached a fresh 52-week high, trading at $419.67 as of October 6, 2026, which reflects strong market momentum and a significant rally from its 52-week low of $155.29, indicating robust investor confidence in the company's recent performance.
  • The company demonstrated exceptional earnings strength in its most recent quarterly report on July 30, 2026, where it reported earnings per share of $12.54, significantly beating the consensus estimate of $10.11 by $2.43, while also exceeding revenue expectations with $44.48 billion in sales compared to the estimated $39.47 billion.
  • Wall Street sentiment remains positive with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy, and recent analyst actions include Barclays raising its price target to $441.00 and Raymond James Financial boosting its target to $450.00, suggesting that institutional investors see further upside potential in the stock.
  • Valero Energy Co. is identified as a top momentum stock by research firms like Zacks, which highlights the company's favorable style factors and recent price strength as key drivers that may attract additional momentum-oriented investors to the position.
  • Institutional investors have been increasing their holdings, with firms such as Amundi boosting its position by 45.3% and UBS AM growing its stake by 33.9% in recent quarters, indicating that large financial entities are accumulating shares and validating the company's long-term value proposition.

Valero Energy
Bear Case

red Wall Street bear icon

Investors should be bearish about investing in Valero Energy Co. for these reasons:

  • The Group of Seven has agreed to release up to 100 million barrels of emergency oil and diesel inventories to reduce record fuel prices, a move that could pressure refining margins and weigh on Valero Energy Co.'s future profitability as diesel prices fall.
  • Despite the recent rally, the stock's elevated valuation and proximity to its 52-week high could limit further gains if upcoming earnings reports or refining margins disappoint, creating a risk of a sharp correction for investors entering at current levels.
  • Insider selling activity has been notable, with SVP Eric A Fisher selling a total of 23,311 shares between March and June 2026, and CFO Jason W Fraser selling 9,933 shares in November 2025, which may signal that company executives are taking advantage of the recent price strength to reduce their personal exposure.
  • Short interest in the stock remains relatively high, with approximately 9.7 million shares shorted as of September 15, 2026, representing about 3.38% of the float, indicating that a portion of the market still holds a bearish view on the company's future direction.
  • The company faces potential headwinds from the G7's coordinated effort to bring down fuel prices, which is intended to reduce record diesel prices that have topped $6 a gallon, potentially reducing the high-margin refining spreads that have driven Valero Energy Co.'s recent earnings beats.

VLO Forecast - Frequently Asked Questions

According to the research reports of 20 Wall Street equities research analysts, the average twelve-month stock price forecast for Valero Energy is $365.63, with a high forecast of $467.00 and a low forecast of $200.00.

20 Wall Street analysts have issued "buy," "hold," and "sell" ratings for Valero Energy in the last twelve months. There is currently 1 sell rating, 8 hold ratings, 9 buy ratings and 2 strong buy ratings for the stock. The consensus among Wall Street analysts is that investors should "moderate buy" VLO shares.

According to analysts, Valero Energy's stock has a predicted downside of -17.59% based on their 12-month stock forecasts.

Over the previous 90 days, Valero Energy's stock had 3 upgrades and 1 downgrade by analysts.

Analysts like Valero Energy more than other "energy" companies. The consensus rating for Valero Energy is Moderate Buy while the average consensus rating for "energy" companies is Hold. Learn more on how VLO compares to other companies.


MarketBeat monitors more than a dozen sources for Valero Energy analyst ratings, with the most recent rating issued on 10/8/2026.
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