Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) Price Target Raised to $261.00

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) had its target price boosted by analysts at Barclays from $184.00 to $261.00 in a research report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “overweight” rating on the oil and gas company’s stock. Barclays‘s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 9.95% from the company’s current price.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the company. Raymond James Financial boosted their target price on Valero Energy from $215.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. Mizuho reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $192.00 target price (up from $190.00) on shares of Valero Energy in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Scotiabank raised Valero Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Valero Energy in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Bank of America reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $195.00 target price (down from $198.00) on shares of Valero Energy in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Two analysts have 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.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $222.00.

Valero Energy Stock Down 5.6%

Valero Energy stock traded down $14.12 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $237.37. The stock had a trading volume of 3,143,237 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,886,232. Valero Energy has a 12 month low of $101.66 and a 12 month high of $258.43. The company has a market capitalization of $70.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.08, a PEG ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $217.78 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $188.22. 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 issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The oil and gas company reported $3.82 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 business 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 posted $0.64 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Valero Energy will post 7.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Valero Energy news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.60, for a total transaction of $95,440.00. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Valero Energy

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of VLO. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,111,542,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership purchased a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $275,239,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 2,635.7% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 950,527 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $154,736,000 after buying an additional 915,782 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 49.3% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,696,811 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $276,224,000 after buying an additional 560,116 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,668,210 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $922,728,000 after buying an additional 394,693 shares during the last quarter. 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.