Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) PT Raised to $165.00

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) had its price objective boosted by Scotiabank from $138.00 to $165.00 in a report released on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a sector outperform rating on the oil and gas company’s stock.

VLO has been the subject of several other research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $130.00 to $171.00 and gave the company a sell rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $175.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $171.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $161.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $149.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $172.40.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:VLO opened at $173.54 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.70 billion, a PE ratio of 7.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.54. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $155.96 and its 200 day moving average price is $138.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 1.11. Valero Energy has a 12 month low of $104.18 and a 12 month high of $184.79.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The oil and gas company reported $3.55 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.95 by $0.60. The firm had revenue of $35.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.76 billion. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 31.62% and a net margin of 6.10%. Valero Energy’s revenue for the quarter was down 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $8.45 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Valero Energy will post 17.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 1st were issued a $1.07 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, January 31st. This is a boost from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. This represents a $4.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.47%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 17.31%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Collective Family Office LLC increased its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Collective Family Office LLC now owns 4,040 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $690,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 4.7% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,327 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $227,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Aua Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 3.1% during the 1st quarter. Aua Capital Management LLC now owns 2,261 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $386,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. United Community Bank increased its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. United Community Bank now owns 3,416 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $444,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marino Stram & Associates LLC increased its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Marino Stram & Associates LLC now owns 8,384 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,090,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.