Analysts Set Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) Target Price at $154.57

Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO - Get Free Report) has been given a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the fifteen analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have given a hold recommendation, ten have assigned a buy recommendation and two have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $154.57.

Several brokerages recently weighed in on VLO. Mizuho reduced their target price 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. Scotiabank decreased their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $173.00 to $141.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Piper Sandler upgraded Valero Energy from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday. TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $145.00 to $140.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Valero Energy from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 9th.

Institutional Trading of Valero Energy

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Valero Energy by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,287,269 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $1,389,090,000 after purchasing an additional 50,837 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 2.8% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 6,956,743 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $1,090,532,000 after acquiring an additional 192,397 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 5.6% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,687,585 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $639,268,000 after acquiring an additional 247,630 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 5.8% during the second 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 acquiring an additional 237,347 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in Valero Energy by 18.8% during the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,585,166 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $484,105,000 after purchasing an additional 567,059 shares in the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Valero Energy Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of VLO traded up $0.83 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $134.18. 2,957,184 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,800,084. 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 fifty-two week low of $116.84 and a fifty-two week high of $184.79. The company has a market cap of $42.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.42. The stock's 50-day moving average is $131.06 and its 200-day moving average is $138.75.

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

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 20th were issued a dividend of $1.07 per share. This represents a $4.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 20th. Valero Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently 38.39%.

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.