Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) Reaches New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $274.92 and last traded at $267.4840, with a volume of 2112316 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $267.76.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VLO has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $222.00 to $289.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $246.00 to $259.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $203.00 to $237.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 12th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Valero Energy from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 6th. Finally, Wolfe Research reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a $203.00 target price on shares of Valero Energy in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $247.59.

Valero Energy Price Performance

The company’s 50-day moving average price is $249.73 and its 200-day moving average price is $221.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The company has a market cap of $81.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.75, a P/E/G ratio of 0.37 and a beta of 0.55.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The oil and gas company reported $4.22 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.16 by $1.06. The business had revenue of $32.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.38 billion. Valero Energy had a net margin of 3.37% and a return on equity of 15.94%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.89 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Valero Energy Corporation will post 28.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 21st were issued a $1.20 dividend. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 21st. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is 34.88%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.17, for a total transaction of $2,011,275.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 19,742 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,294,212.14. This trade represents a 27.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Valero Energy

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 3,400.0% in the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 105 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. JPL Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Valero Energy in the third quarter valued at $27,000. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in Valero Energy in the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Valero Energy by 134.0% in the 1st quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 117 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Torren Management LLC bought a new stake in Valero Energy during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.