Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) Upgraded by Wall Street Zen to “Buy” Rating

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Saturday.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Valero Energy in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Valero Energy from $181.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 10th. Bank of America restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $195.00 price objective (down from $198.00) on shares of Valero Energy in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $216.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Valero Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $183.53.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

NYSE VLO opened at $202.63 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $177.10 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $165.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 1.09. Valero Energy has a 1 year low of $99.00 and a 1 year high of $203.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $61.80 billion, a PE ratio of 26.52, a P/E/G ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.77.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The oil and gas company reported $3.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 analysts’ expectations of $28.20 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.64 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Valero Energy will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 9th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 5th will be issued a $1.20 dividend. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 5th. This is a positive change from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.13. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.83%.

Insider Activity at Valero Energy

In related news, CFO Jason W. Fraser sold 9,933 shares of Valero Energy stock in a transaction on Friday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.02, for a total value of $1,728,540.66. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 134,196 shares in the company, valued at $23,352,787.92. This trade represents a 6.89% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Valero Energy by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,724,707 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,576,035,000 after acquiring an additional 286,942 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Valero Energy by 16.7% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,141,511 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,089,897,000 after purchasing an additional 1,164,217 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the second quarter valued at approximately $827,390,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 5.0% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,273,517 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $897,869,000 after purchasing an additional 249,195 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 5.3% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 4,143,672 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $705,502,000 after buying an additional 209,597 shares during the period. 78.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.