Mizuho Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) Stock Price

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO - Free Report) had its target price decreased by Mizuho from $171.00 to $165.00 in a report released on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. Mizuho currently has an outperform rating on the oil and gas company's stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on VLO. Scotiabank lowered their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $173.00 to $141.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $192.00 to $176.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Valero Energy from $175.00 to $165.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Valero Energy from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their price objective on Valero Energy from $145.00 to $140.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Valero Energy currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $155.07.

Valero Energy Price Performance

Valero Energy stock traded down $4.07 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $125.07. The company had a trading volume of 4,421,678 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,907,734. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $136.27 and its 200-day simple moving average is $143.19. Valero Energy has a 1 year low of $124.02 and a 1 year high of $184.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The company has a market capitalization of $39.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.39.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The oil and gas company reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $32.88 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.04 billion. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 13.07% and a net margin of 2.74%. Valero Energy's quarterly revenue was down 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $7.49 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Valero Energy will post 8.86 EPS for the current year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. Valero Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently 38.39%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Valero Energy

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. EdgeRock Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Valero Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Valero Energy during the second quarter worth about $31,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Valero Energy in the third quarter worth about $28,000. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA acquired a new stake in shares of Valero Energy in the third quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, American Capital Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at about $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.69% of the company's stock.

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.