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

Shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the fifteen ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $155.07.

VLO has been the subject of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Valero Energy from $172.00 to $151.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Scotiabank dropped their target price on Valero Energy from $173.00 to $141.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $192.00 to $176.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Mizuho decreased their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $171.00 to $165.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:VLO traded down $0.34 on Friday, hitting $118.59. The company had a trading volume of 7,603,977 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,944,352. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $134.83 and a 200 day moving average price of $142.46. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The stock has a market cap of $37.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.39. Valero Energy has a 1-year low of $117.14 and a 1-year high of $184.79.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The oil and gas company reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $32.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.04 billion. Valero Energy had a net margin of 2.74% and a return on equity of 13.07%. Valero Energy's quarterly revenue was down 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $7.49 EPS. Analysts expect that Valero Energy will post 8.86 EPS for the current year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The firm 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 3.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. Valero Energy's payout ratio is presently 38.39%.

Institutional Trading of Valero Energy

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in Valero Energy by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,293,589 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $174,673,000 after purchasing an additional 22,571 shares during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its holdings in Valero Energy by 7.5% during the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 89,762 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $12,121,000 after purchasing an additional 6,278 shares during the last quarter. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Valero Energy by 136.1% in the third quarter. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC now owns 75,117 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $10,143,000 after buying an additional 43,299 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 2.8% in 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 period. Finally, Foster & Motley Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 23.3% during the 3rd quarter. Foster & Motley Inc. now owns 20,802 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $2,809,000 after buying an additional 3,934 shares in the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.