Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) Receives $154.46 Average Target Price from Brokerages

Shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) have been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the fifteen analysts that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $156.08.

VLO has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $160.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $149.00 to $144.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Tudor Pickering upgraded shares of Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $165.00 to $158.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $146.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 11th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Valero Energy

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Valero Energy by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,784 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,169,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors grew its position in shares of Valero Energy by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 4,323 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $530,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Segment Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Valero Energy by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Segment Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,947 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $606,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Silver Coast Investments LLC grew its position in shares of Valero Energy by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Silver Coast Investments LLC now owns 5,070 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $622,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators grew its position in shares of Valero Energy by 6.4% during the 3rd quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 1,420 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $192,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Valero Energy Trading Up 0.8 %

VLO stock opened at $127.00 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $40.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.98, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $132.76 and a 200-day simple moving average of $134.45. Valero Energy has a 52 week low of $116.84 and a 52 week high of $184.79.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The oil and gas company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.50. Valero Energy had a net margin of 2.13% and a return on equity of 9.58%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Valero Energy will post 7.92 EPS for the current year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 30th were given a $1.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 30th. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.56%. This is an increase from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.07. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is presently 53.30%.

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.