Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) Raised to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) was upgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report released on Saturday.

Several other analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Bank of America reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $195.00 price objective (down previously from $198.00) on shares of Valero Energy in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $197.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Argus raised shares of Valero Energy to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Zacks Research cut shares of Valero Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Valero Energy from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Valero Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $183.53.

Valero Energy Stock Up 4.4%

Shares of NYSE:VLO opened at $202.63 on Friday. Valero Energy has a 1 year low of $99.00 and a 1 year high of $203.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 1.09. The business’s 50-day moving average is $177.10 and its 200-day moving average is $165.26. The company has a market capitalization of $61.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.52, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.77.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The oil and gas company reported $3.82 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.27 by $0.55. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 1.91%.The business had revenue of $30.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $28.20 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.64 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Valero Energy will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Valero Energy

In other Valero Energy news, CFO Jason W. Fraser sold 9,933 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.02, for a total transaction of $1,728,540.66. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 134,196 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,352,787.92. The trade was a 6.89% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Woodline Partners LP grew its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 40.7% in the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 26,747 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,532,000 after acquiring an additional 7,735 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in Valero Energy by 13.0% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,929 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $259,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares during the last quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System grew its stake in Valero Energy by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 15,171 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,039,000 after purchasing an additional 415 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd. increased its position in shares of Valero Energy by 18.1% during the 2nd quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 4,947 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $665,000 after purchasing an additional 759 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Callan Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at $497,000. Institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Valero Energy Company Profile

Valero Energy Corporation is a San Antonio, Texas–based integrated downstream energy company that manufactures and markets transportation fuels, petrochemical feedstocks and other industrial products. The company’s operations focus on refining crude oil into finished fuels such as gasoline, diesel and jet fuel, as well as producing asphalt and other refined product streams for commercial and industrial customers.

In addition to refining, Valero has significant operations in renewable fuels, including the production of ethanol and other biofuels, and it manages an extensive logistics network of pipelines, terminals, rail and marine assets to move feedstocks and finished products.