Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) Earns “Hold” Rating from Jefferies Financial Group

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO)‘s stock had its “hold” rating reiterated by equities research analysts at Jefferies Financial Group in a report released on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $401.00 price target on the oil and gas company’s stock. Jefferies Financial Group’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 1.85% from the company’s previous close.

VLO has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $356.00 to $389.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Valero Energy from $286.00 to $357.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Valero Energy from $338.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Valero Energy from $289.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Valero Energy from $279.00 to $323.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Valero Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $328.88.

Valero Energy Stock Down 4.7%

Shares of NYSE:VLO opened at $393.71 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The company has a market capitalization of $113.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.34, a P/E/G ratio of 0.28 and a beta of 0.57. Valero Energy has a 52-week low of $155.29 and a 52-week high of $419.04. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $341.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $280.01.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The oil and gas company reported $12.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.11 by $2.43. The company had revenue of $44.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $39.47 billion. Valero Energy had a net margin of 5.17% and a return on equity of 26.74%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 48.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.28 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Valero Energy will post 48.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Valero Energy

In related news, SVP Eric Fisher sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.17, for a total value of $2,011,275.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 19,742 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,294,212.14. This represents a 27.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Valero Energy

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Valero Energy during the fourth quarter worth $1,111,542,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in 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 valued at $922,728,000 after buying an additional 394,693 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 11.4% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 5,033,310 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,243,630,000 after acquiring an additional 516,975 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 9.4% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,969,320 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $733,660,000 after acquiring an additional 254,604 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its position in shares of Valero Energy by 18.4% during the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,842,339 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $702,285,000 after acquiring an additional 442,177 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 is an international energy company headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. Its primary business is refining crude oil into transportation fuels and other products, including gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, asphalt, lubricants and petrochemical feedstocks.

Valero operates refineries and related facilities in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom, and markets its products through wholesale and commercial channels in North America and other international markets.