Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) Price Target Raised to $237.00

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) had its target price lifted by The Goldman Sachs Group from $203.00 to $237.00 in a research note published on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The Goldman Sachs Group currently has a buy rating on the oil and gas company’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Argus raised shares of Valero Energy to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Valero Energy in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Valero Energy in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Zacks Research cut Valero Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. One investment 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 company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $193.20.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

NYSE VLO opened at $230.57 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $68.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.18, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.70. The business’s 50 day moving average is $197.83 and its two-hundred day moving average is $177.83. Valero Energy has a 12-month low of $99.00 and a 12-month high of $240.27. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The oil and gas company reported $3.82 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.27 by $0.55. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 12.35% and a net margin of 1.91%.The business had revenue of $30.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $28.20 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.64 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Valero Energy will post 7.92 EPS for the current year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The business 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. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. 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. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 62.83%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Valero Energy news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.60, for a total transaction of $95,440.00. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 23,859 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its stake in Valero Energy by 15.7% in the 2nd 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 last quarter. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Valero Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $4,534,000. Cerity Partners LLC grew its holdings in Valero Energy by 9.0% in the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 104,859 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $17,853,000 after buying an additional 8,638 shares during the period. Finally, Tema Etfs LLC acquired a new position in shares of Valero Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,669,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Key Valero Energy News

Here are the key news stories impacting Valero Energy this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Goldman Sachs raised its price target to $237 and kept a Buy rating, offering a near-term catalyst and institutional endorsement that can support the share price. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Valero increased its quarterly dividend to $1.20 (annualized $4.80), which strengthens the income argument for the stock and can attract yield-focused buyers. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Notable institutional accumulation has been reported (several funds adding positions), signalling conviction from longer-term investors in a refining recovery. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts are revising fair-value assumptions (example fair value moved to ~$202.72), producing mixed calls — some firms lift targets, others trim them depending on refining/crude assumptions. This creates divergent analyst signals rather than a clear consensus catalyst. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Several investor-attention and dividend-themed write-ups (Zacks/Yahoo) are increasing visibility; helpful for flows but not a direct fundamental change. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: SVP Eric A. Fisher disclosed sizable sales this week (8,311 shares at ~ $227.69 and an additional 400 shares at ~$238.60). Large insider disposals can spook short-term sentiment even though he retains a substantial holding. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Policy risk: reports that the White House is considering a temporary Jones Act waiver to ease fuel shipping could, if enacted, lower domestic fuel prices and compress refiners’ margins — a material industry risk for Valero. Read More.

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.