Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) Stock Price Expected to Rise, TD Cowen Analyst Says

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) had its price objective raised by stock analysts at TD Cowen from $292.00 to $338.00 in a report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “hold” rating on the oil and gas company’s stock. TD Cowen’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 8.72% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on VLO. Weiss Ratings downgraded Valero Energy from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $280.00 target price on shares of Valero Energy in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Valero Energy from $232.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Valero Energy from $259.00 to $302.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $220.00 to $292.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Valero Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $262.82.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

Shares of VLO opened at $310.90 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.58. The company has a market capitalization of $92.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.59, a PEG ratio of 0.38 and a beta of 0.55. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $262.98 and its 200 day simple moving average is $232.93. Valero Energy has a 1 year low of $130.78 and a 1 year high of $320.24.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The oil and gas company reported $4.22 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.16 by $1.06. The firm had revenue of $32.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.38 billion. Valero Energy had a net margin of 3.37% and a return on equity of 15.94%. Valero Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.89 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Valero Energy will post 32.61 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Valero Energy news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 7,500 shares of Valero Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.17, for a total transaction of $2,011,275.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 19,742 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,294,212.14. The trade was a 27.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Valero Energy

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in VLO. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Valero Energy during the 4th quarter worth $1,111,542,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership acquired a new stake in Valero Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at $275,239,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in Valero Energy by 2,635.7% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 950,527 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $154,736,000 after purchasing an additional 915,782 shares during the period. Amundi lifted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 45.3% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 2,584,976 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $638,695,000 after purchasing an additional 806,018 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 49.3% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,696,811 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $276,224,000 after purchasing an additional 560,116 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

More Valero Energy News

Here are the key news stories impacting Valero Energy this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Goldman Sachs raised Valero Energy’s price target to $357 from $286 and kept a buy rating, signaling meaningful upside from current levels. Benzinga article
• Positive Sentiment: TD Cowen also lifted its price target on Valero to $338 from $292, reinforcing improving Street sentiment on the stock. Benzinga article
• Positive Sentiment: A recent comparison of Valero vs. Cenovus Energy argued that VLO’s refining advantage and near-term upside make it the more attractive energy stock right now. Yahoo Finance article
• Neutral Sentiment: Another article echoed the same Valero vs. Cenovus comparison, but it was more of an opinion/research piece than a new operational update for VLO. Zacks article
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks also published a long-term growth article naming Valero as a top growth stock, which is supportive but not a direct catalyst. Zacks article

About Valero Energy

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.