Brokerages Set Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) PT at $154.46

Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the fifteen analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $154.46.

VLO has been the topic of several research reports. Mizuho decreased 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. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $160.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $192.00 to $176.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Valero Energy from $146.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their target price on Valero Energy from $145.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Unison Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Valero Energy by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Unison Advisors LLC now owns 15,235 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,868,000 after buying an additional 114 shares in the last quarter. Pitcairn Co. increased its stake in Valero Energy by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Pitcairn Co. now owns 9,454 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,159,000 after acquiring an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors raised its position in Valero Energy by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 4,323 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $530,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. OneAscent Financial Services LLC lifted its stake in Valero Energy by 57.8% during the fourth quarter. OneAscent Financial Services LLC now owns 2,997 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $367,000 after purchasing an additional 1,098 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Huntington National Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 784,278 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $96,145,000 after purchasing an additional 4,044 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Valero Energy Trading Down 4.3 %

Valero Energy stock opened at $130.95 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.57. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $130.58 and a 200 day simple moving average of $136.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.44, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.42. Valero Energy has a 52 week low of $116.84 and a 52 week high of $184.79.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The oil and gas company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.50. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 9.58% and a net margin of 2.13%. Analysts expect that Valero Energy will post 7.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 30th will be issued a dividend of $1.13 per share. This is a positive change from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.07. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.45%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 30th. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 53.30%.

Valero Energy Company Profile

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.