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

Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-one research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have given a hold recommendation, eleven have issued a buy recommendation and two have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $245.5882.

Several analysts have commented on VLO shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Valero Energy from $203.00 to $237.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Barclays lifted their price target on Valero Energy from $184.00 to $261.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Valero Energy from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on Valero Energy from $178.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, UBS Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $280.00 price target on shares of Valero Energy in a report on Thursday, June 11th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Valero Energy news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 7,500 shares of Valero Energy stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.90, for a total value of $1,776,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 27,242 shares in the company, valued at $6,453,629.80. The trade was a 21.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.36% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Valero Energy

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of VLO. Woodline Partners LP grew its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 40.7% during the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 26,747 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $3,532,000 after purchasing an additional 7,735 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 13.0% during the 2nd 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 period. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL purchased a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the 2nd quarter worth about $528,000. Sei Investments Co. grew its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 11.3% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 269,043 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $36,165,000 after purchasing an additional 27,291 shares during the period. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina grew its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 145,810 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $19,600,000 after purchasing an additional 1,338 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Valero Energy Trading Up 3.0%

Shares of VLO stock opened at $243.30 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $245.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $215.55. Valero Energy has a twelve month low of $130.78 and a twelve month high of $265.61. The company has a market capitalization of $72.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.68, a PEG ratio of 0.34 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The oil and gas company reported $4.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.16 by $1.06. Valero Energy had a net margin of 3.37% and a return on equity of 15.94%. The firm had revenue of $32.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.38 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.89 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Valero Energy will post 27.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be issued a $1.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is 34.88%.

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.