Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) Rating Increased to Hold at Argus

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Argus to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Valero Energy from $217.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Valero Energy in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. TD Cowen increased their price target on Valero Energy from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Mizuho restated a “neutral” rating and set a $192.00 price objective (up from $190.00) on shares of Valero Energy in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $169.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Valero Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $183.53.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

Shares of VLO opened at $197.34 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $176.19 and a 200-day moving average of $164.67. The company has a market cap of $60.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.60. Valero Energy has a 1 year low of $99.00 and a 1 year high of $198.36.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The oil and gas company reported $3.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.27 by $0.55. Valero Energy had a net margin of 1.91% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The firm had revenue of $30.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $28.20 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.64 EPS. Valero Energy’s quarterly revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Valero Energy will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Jason W. Fraser sold 9,933 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.02, for a total transaction of $1,728,540.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 134,196 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,352,787.92. This trade represents a 6.89% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Valero Energy

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VLO. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC grew its position in Valero Energy by 49.3% in the fourth quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 3,775 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $615,000 after buying an additional 1,247 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Family Wealth Counselors L.L.C. acquired a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $335,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 2,635.7% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 950,527 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $154,736,000 after acquiring an additional 915,782 shares in the last quarter. West Tower Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the 4th quarter worth $293,000. Finally, Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp raised its position in shares of Valero Energy by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 38,241 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $6,225,000 after purchasing an additional 229 shares during the period. 78.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Valero Energy

Valero Energy Corporation is a San Antonio, Texas–based integrated downstream energy company that manufactures and markets transportation fuels, petrochemical feedstocks and other industrial products. The company’s operations focus on refining crude oil into finished fuels such as gasoline, diesel and jet fuel, as well as producing asphalt and other refined product streams for commercial and industrial customers.

In addition to refining, Valero has significant operations in renewable fuels, including the production of ethanol and other biofuels, and it manages an extensive logistics network of pipelines, terminals, rail and marine assets to move feedstocks and finished products.