Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) Price Target Cut to $165.00 by Analysts at Barclays

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) had its target price cut by Barclays from $171.00 to $165.00 in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the oil and gas company’s stock.

VLO has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $138.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a sector outperform rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $178.00 to $172.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $167.00 to $197.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $160.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Argus cut shares of Valero Energy from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Thursday, May 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $170.07.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

Shares of VLO opened at $147.92 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.59 and a quick ratio of 1.10. Valero Energy has a 1 year low of $112.67 and a 1 year high of $184.79. The firm has a market cap of $48.37 billion, a PE ratio of 7.33, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.42. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $155.13 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $151.63.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The oil and gas company reported $3.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.18 by $0.64. The business had revenue of $31.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $32.02 billion. Valero Energy had a net margin of 5.01% and a return on equity of 24.82%. Valero Energy’s revenue was down 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $8.27 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Valero Energy will post 15.34 EPS for the current year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 30th were given a $1.07 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 30th. This represents a $4.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.89%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.20%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Valero Energy news, Director Kimberly S. Greene sold 720 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.12, for a total value of $113,846.40. Following the sale, the director now owns 13,314 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,105,209.68. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Valero Energy in the 4th quarter worth $570,428,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 12,883.3% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,047,360 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $136,157,000 after acquiring an additional 1,039,293 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 37.6% in the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,558,750 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $266,040,000 after acquiring an additional 426,093 shares during the last quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. increased its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 18.7% in the 4th quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. now owns 2,389,654 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $310,655,000 after acquiring an additional 376,449 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 14.0% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,788,994 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $362,569,000 after acquiring an additional 342,218 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Valero Energy Company Profile

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.