Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) Price Target Raised to $197.00

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) had its price objective increased by UBS Group from $167.00 to $197.00 in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. UBS Group currently has a buy rating on the oil and gas company’s stock.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on VLO. Bank of America upgraded shares of Valero Energy from a neutral rating to a buy rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $156.00 to $210.00 in a report on Friday, March 15th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $146.00 to $149.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $130.00 to $171.00 and gave the company a sell rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Raymond James boosted their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $154.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a strong-buy rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Mizuho lowered shares of Valero Energy from a buy rating to a neutral rating and boosted their price target for the company from $150.00 to $173.00 in a report on Friday, March 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $165.69.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

Shares of VLO stock opened at $170.69 on Tuesday. Valero Energy has a 52 week low of $104.18 and a 52 week high of $172.46. The company has a market cap of $56.75 billion, a PE ratio of 6.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a current ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $145.77 and its 200-day simple moving average is $135.75.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 25th. The oil and gas company reported $3.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.95 by $0.60. Valero Energy had a net margin of 6.10% and a return on equity of 31.62%. The company had revenue of $35.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.76 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $8.45 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Valero Energy will post 15.66 EPS for the current year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 4th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 1st were given a dividend of $1.07 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, January 31st. This is an increase from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. This represents a $4.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.51%. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is presently 17.31%.

Institutional Trading of Valero Energy

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Blair William & Co. IL lifted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 1.9% in the first quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 33,427 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $3,394,000 after buying an additional 632 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. raised its stake in Valero Energy by 21.7% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 100,006 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $10,163,000 after purchasing an additional 17,844 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its holdings in Valero Energy by 12.5% in the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 60,730 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $6,167,000 after purchasing an additional 6,735 shares during the period. Prudential PLC bought a new stake in Valero Energy in the 1st quarter valued at $1,253,000. Finally, Moors & Cabot Inc. boosted its holdings in Valero Energy by 21.0% in the 1st quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 6,780 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $688,000 after purchasing an additional 1,179 shares during the period. 78.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.