Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) have earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the fifteen research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have issued a hold recommendation, ten have given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $174.40.

Several research analysts recently issued reports on VLO shares. Raymond James lifted their price objective on Valero Energy from $154.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Valero Energy from $130.00 to $171.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $138.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $177.00 to $178.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $167.00 to $197.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Valero Energy

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of VLO. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Valero Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $570,428,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 12,883.3% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,047,360 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $136,157,000 after purchasing an additional 1,039,293 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 94.4% during the third quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,429,706 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $202,585,000 after purchasing an additional 694,224 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 6.1% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 8,961,603 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,269,949,000 after purchasing an additional 517,068 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. lifted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 18.7% during the fourth quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. now owns 2,389,654 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $310,655,000 after purchasing an additional 376,449 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

Shares of Valero Energy stock opened at $157.07 on Thursday. Valero Energy has a one year low of $105.49 and a one year high of $184.79. The company has a market cap of $51.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.78, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.59. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $163.69 and its 200 day moving average price is $142.19.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The oil and gas company reported $3.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.18 by $0.64. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 24.82% and a net margin of 5.01%. The business had revenue of $31.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $32.02 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $8.27 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Valero Energy will post 18.02 EPS for the current year.

About Valero Energy

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.