Valero Energy (VLO) Stock Forecast & Price Target

$302.48 -0.02 (-0.01%)

Closing price 07/24/2026 03:59 PM Eastern

Extended Trading

$302.76 +0.28 (+0.09%)

As of 07/24/2026 07:34 PM Eastern

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

Consensus Rating

Moderate Buy

Based on 21 Analyst Ratings

Sell
1

Hold
8

Buy
12

Based on 21 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 21 analysts, 1 has given a sell rating, 8 have given a hold rating, 11 have given a buy rating, and 1 has given a strong buy rating for VLO.

Consensus Price Target

$266.71
-11.83% Downside

According to the 21 analysts' twelve-month price targets for Valero Energy, the average price target is $266.71. The highest price target for VLO is $357.00, while the lowest price target for VLO is $185.00. The average price target represents a forecasted downside of -11.83% from the current price of $302.48.

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

Type	Current Forecast 7/27/25 to 7/27/26	1 Month Ago 6/27/25 to 6/27/26	3 Months Ago 4/28/25 to 4/28/26	1 Year Ago 7/27/24 to 7/27/25
Strong Buy	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2 Strong Buy rating(s)	2 Strong Buy rating(s)
Buy	11 Buy rating(s)	11 Buy rating(s)	10 Buy rating(s)	10 Buy rating(s)
Hold	8 Hold rating(s)	8 Hold rating(s)	8 Hold rating(s)	5 Hold rating(s)
Sell	1 Sell rating(s)	1 Sell rating(s)	1 Sell rating(s)	0 Sell rating(s)
Consensus Price Target	$266.71	$245.59	$235.94	$153.87
Forecasted Upside	-11.83% Downside	-5.20% Downside	-1.76% Downside	8.34% Upside
Consensus Rating	Moderate Buy	Moderate Buy	Moderate Buy	Moderate 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.

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.

Valero Energy Stock vs. The Competition

Type	Valero Energy	Energy Companies	Broader Market
Consensus Rating Score	2.57	2.39	2.52
Consensus Rating	Moderate Buy	Hold	Moderate Buy
Predicted Upside	-11.83% Downside	56.81% Upside	14.30% Upside
News Sentiment Rating	Positive News See Recent VLO News	Positive News	Positive News

Recent Analyst Forecasts and Stock Ratings

Rating

Upside/Downside

Action

Time Frame

Start Date

End Date

Show

Export

Date	Brokerage	Analyst	Action	Rating	Price Target	Report Date Upside/Downside
7/23/2026	Weiss Ratings 5 of 5 stars		Upgrade	Hold (C+) ➝ Buy (B-)
7/23/2026	Piper Sandler 2 of 5 stars	John Royall Not Rated	Reiterated Rating	Overweight	$329.00	+4.70%
7/22/2026	The Goldman Sachs Group 3 of 5 stars	Neil Mehta 5 of 5 stars	Boost Target	Buy	$286.00 ➝ $357.00	+14.70%
7/21/2026	TD Cowen Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the firm's recommendation accuracy rating	Jason Gabelman Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the analyst's recommendation accuracy rating	Boost Target	Hold	$292.00 ➝ $338.00	+8.22%
7/14/2026	Citigroup Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the firm's recommendation accuracy rating	Vikram Bagri Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the analyst's recommendation accuracy rating	Boost Target	Neutral	$259.00 ➝ $302.00	+1.56%
7/13/2026	Raymond James Financial Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the firm's recommendation accuracy rating	Justin Jenkins Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the analyst's recommendation accuracy rating	Boost Target	Strong-Buy	$300.00 ➝ $340.00	+17.41%
7/1/2026	Barclays Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the firm's recommendation accuracy rating	Theresa Chen Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the analyst's recommendation accuracy rating	Boost Target	Overweight	$261.00 ➝ $279.00	+7.05%
6/22/2026	Zacks Research Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the firm's recommendation accuracy rating		Downgrade	Strong-Buy ➝ Hold
6/12/2026	Morgan Stanley Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the firm's recommendation accuracy rating	Joe Laetsch Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the analyst's recommendation accuracy rating	Boost Target	Equal Weight	$232.00 ➝ $255.00	-2.01%
6/11/2026	UBS Group Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the firm's recommendation accuracy rating	Manav Gupta Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the analyst's recommendation accuracy rating	Reiterated Rating	Buy	$280.00	+7.86%
Get the Latest News and Ratings for VLO and Related Stocks Enter your email address below to receive the latest news and analysts' ratings for Valero Energy and its competitors with MarketBeat's FREE daily newsletter.
5/27/2026	Mizuho Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the firm's recommendation accuracy rating	Nitin Kumar Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the analyst's recommendation accuracy rating	Boost Target	Neutral	$222.00 ➝ $289.00	+23.16%
4/22/2026	Scotiabank Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the firm's recommendation accuracy rating	Betty Zhang Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the analyst's recommendation accuracy rating	Boost Target	Sector Outperform	$178.00 ➝ $226.00	-3.39%
4/21/2026	Wolfe Research Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the firm's recommendation accuracy rating	Doug Leggate Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the analyst's recommendation accuracy rating	Reiterated Rating	Peer Perform ➝ Underperform	$203.00	-10.21%
4/6/2026	BMO Capital Markets Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the firm's recommendation accuracy rating	Phillip Jungwirth Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the analyst's recommendation accuracy rating	Boost Target	Outperform	$230.00 ➝ $270.00	+12.00%
3/31/2026	Wells Fargo & Company Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the firm's recommendation accuracy rating	Sam Margolin Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the analyst's recommendation accuracy rating	Boost Target	Overweight	$220.00 ➝ $292.00	+16.69%
2/2/2026	Argus Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the firm's recommendation accuracy rating		Upgrade	Hold
1/8/2026	JPMorgan Chase & Co. Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the firm's recommendation accuracy rating	Zach Parham Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the analyst's recommendation accuracy rating	Boost Target	Overweight	$197.00 ➝ $200.00	+5.03%
12/11/2025	Bank of America Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the firm's recommendation accuracy rating	Jean Ann Salisbury Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the analyst's recommendation accuracy rating	Reiterated Rating	Buy ➝ Neutral	$198.00 ➝ $195.00	+10.74%
11/10/2025	Erste Group Bank Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the firm's recommendation accuracy rating		Initiated Coverage	Buy
10/10/2025	Jefferies Financial Group Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the firm's recommendation accuracy rating	Lloyd Byrne Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the analyst's recommendation accuracy rating	Boost Target	Buy	$181.00 ➝ $194.00	+19.75%
9/19/2025	Evercore Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the firm's recommendation accuracy rating	Stephen Richardson Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the analyst's recommendation accuracy rating	Boost Target	In-Line	$135.00 ➝ $185.00	+14.67%
2/4/2025	Tudor Pickering Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the firm's recommendation accuracy rating	M. Blair Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the analyst's recommendation accuracy rating	Upgrade	Hold ➝ Strong-Buy

Analyst ratings data on MarketBeat is provided by Benzinga and other data providers. This page was last refreshed on Monday at 01:31 AM 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 Monday, July 20, 2026. Please send any questions or comments about these Valero Energy pros and cons to contact@marketbeat.com.

Valero Energy
Bull Case

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

The company reported impressive earnings per share of $4.22 for the latest quarter, significantly exceeding analysts' expectations, indicating strong financial performance.
Valero Energy Co. has shown a solid return on equity of 15.94%, reflecting effective management and profitability relative to shareholder equity.
With a recent revenue of $32.38 billion, which surpassed analyst estimates, the company demonstrates robust operational growth and market demand for its products.
The current stock price is around $255, which is supported by positive analyst ratings, including several "buy" recommendations, suggesting potential for further appreciation.
The company has a reasonable dividend payout ratio of 34.88%, allowing for a balance between returning value to shareholders and reinvesting in growth opportunities.

Valero Energy
Bear Case

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

Despite recent successes, the company has a net margin of 3.37%, which may indicate limited profitability compared to competitors in the industry.
Valero Energy Co. has faced fluctuations in stock price targets from analysts, with some downgrades, which could signal uncertainty in future performance.
Insider transactions, such as significant stock sales by executives, may raise concerns about the company's future prospects and management confidence.
With institutional investors holding 78.69% of the stock, there may be less room for retail investors to influence company decisions or stock performance.
The energy sector can be highly volatile, influenced by global oil prices and regulatory changes, which may pose risks to Valero Energy Co.'s stability and growth.

VLO Forecast - Frequently Asked Questions

According to the research reports of 21 Wall Street equities research analysts, the average twelve-month stock price forecast for Valero Energy is $266.71, with a high forecast of $357.00 and a low forecast of $185.00.

21 Wall Street equities research 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, 11 buy ratings and 1 strong buy rating for the stock. The consensus among Wall Street equities research analysts is that investors should "moderate buy" VLO shares.

According to analysts, Valero Energy's stock has a predicted downside of -11.83% based on their 12-month stock forecasts.

Over the previous 90 days, Valero Energy's stock had 2 upgrades and 2 downgrades by analysts.

Valero Energy has been rated by research analysts at Barclays, Citigroup, Mizuho, Morgan Stanley, Piper Sandler, Raymond James Financial, TD Cowen, The Goldman Sachs Group, UBS Group, Weiss Ratings, and Zacks Research in the past 90 days.

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.

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This page (NYSE:VLO) was last updated on 7/27/2026 by MarketBeat.com Staff.

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Valero Energy (VLO) Stock Forecast & Price Target