Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) Hits New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

Shares of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) reached a new 52-week high on Thursday . The company traded as high as $236.30 and last traded at $237.0180, with a volume of 786523 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $231.05.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VLO has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Barclays boosted their price objective on Valero Energy from $169.00 to $184.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 17th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective 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. Citigroup upped their price objective on Valero Energy from $190.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $197.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Valero Energy in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Valero Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $187.67.

Valero Energy Stock Up 2.2%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.64 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The stock has a market cap of $70.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.70. The business has a fifty day moving average of $195.07 and a 200 day moving average of $176.62.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The oil and gas company reported $3.82 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.27 by $0.55. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 12.35% and a net margin of 1.91%.The company had revenue of $30.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $28.20 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.64 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Valero Energy Corporation will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 5th were paid a $1.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 5th. This is an increase from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.13. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is presently 62.83%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Valero Energy

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 17.4% in the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 160,794 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $27,377,000 after buying an additional 23,859 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. increased its position in shares of Valero Energy by 15.7% during the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 161,957 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $21,770,000 after buying an additional 21,997 shares during the period. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in Valero Energy in the third quarter valued at $4,534,000. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its position in Valero Energy by 9.0% during the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 104,859 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $17,853,000 after acquiring an additional 8,638 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tema Etfs LLC acquired a new stake in Valero Energy during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,669,000. Institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

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.