Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the fourteen analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have issued a hold recommendation, ten have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $152.67.

VLO has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Tudor Pickering upgraded shares of Valero Energy from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Mizuho lowered their price objective on Valero Energy from $165.00 to $158.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Piper Sandler cut their target price on Valero Energy from $149.00 to $144.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Valero Energy from $160.00 to $159.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:VLO traded up $0.03 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $133.77. The company had a trading volume of 2,410,150 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,881,570. The company has a market cap of $42.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.77, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.36. 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 fifty day moving average of $133.17 and a two-hundred day moving average of $133.30. Valero Energy has a 12-month low of $116.84 and a 12-month high of $184.79.

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Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The oil and gas company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.50. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 9.58% and a net margin of 2.13%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Valero Energy will post 7.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, January 30th were paid 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 yield of 3.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 30th. Valero Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 53.30%.

Institutional Trading of Valero Energy

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Valero Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Valero Energy during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Tobam purchased a new stake in Valero Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. True Wealth Design LLC increased its position in Valero Energy by 196.8% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 276 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. 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.