Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Citigroup Analyst Says

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) had its price objective upped by investment analysts at Citigroup from $190.00 to $212.00 in a report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “neutral” rating on the oil and gas company’s stock. Citigroup’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 4.84% from the company’s previous close.

Several other research analysts have also commented on the company. Argus raised Valero Energy to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $169.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 17th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Valero Energy in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Valero Energy from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price target on Valero Energy from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Valero Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $187.67.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

Shares of VLO stock traded down $0.46 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $202.22. The company had a trading volume of 1,014,377 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,816,825. The firm has a market cap of $61.68 billion, a PE ratio of 26.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.77. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $177.10 and a 200-day moving average price of $165.53. Valero Energy has a one year low of $99.00 and a one year high of $204.14. 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 (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, beating the consensus estimate of $3.27 by $0.55. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 1.91%.The firm had revenue of $30.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $28.20 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.64 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Valero Energy will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Jason W. Fraser sold 9,933 shares of Valero Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief financial officer directly 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.37% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Valero Energy

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC raised its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC now owns 975 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $159,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the period. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 9,610 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,564,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the period. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC increased its stake in Valero Energy by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 3,788 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $617,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the period. Prospera Financial Services Inc boosted its holdings in Valero Energy by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 16,268 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,651,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Montecito Bank & Trust raised its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Montecito Bank & Trust now owns 3,909 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $636,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.