Barclays Lowers Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) Price Target to $140.00

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO - Free Report) had its target price cut by Barclays from $146.00 to $140.00 in a report released on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the oil and gas company's stock.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on VLO. Mizuho reduced their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $175.00 to $171.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Piper Sandler downgraded shares of Valero Energy from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $169.00 to $123.00 in a research report on Friday, September 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $172.00 to $151.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Valero Energy in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $177.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $192.00 to $176.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $155.86.

Valero Energy Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE VLO traded up $1.37 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $138.06. The stock had a trading volume of 1,774,239 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,963,121. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.57. Valero Energy has a 1 year low of $120.21 and a 1 year high of $184.79. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $135.89 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $147.21. The firm has a market cap of $43.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.39.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The oil and gas company reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.16. Valero Energy had a net margin of 2.74% and a return on equity of 13.07%. The company had revenue of $32.88 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.04 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $7.49 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Valero Energy will post 9.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be paid a dividend of $1.07 per share. This represents a $4.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.10%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. Valero Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently 38.39%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Valero Energy

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of Valero Energy by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 6,956,743 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $1,090,532,000 after purchasing an additional 192,397 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Valero Energy by 5.8% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,319,436 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $677,007,000 after purchasing an additional 237,347 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Valero Energy by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,018,107 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $473,118,000 after purchasing an additional 56,989 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc increased its position in shares of Valero Energy by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,809,355 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $440,394,000 after purchasing an additional 82,539 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in shares of Valero Energy by 3.3% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,063,923 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $352,292,000 after purchasing an additional 65,632 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.69% of the company's stock.

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.