Barclays Issues Positive Forecast for Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) Stock Price

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) had its target price lifted by Barclays from $261.00 to $279.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the oil and gas company’s stock. Barclays‘s target price would indicate a potential upside of 7.05% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $178.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $280.00 price objective on shares of Valero Energy in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $232.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, June 12th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Valero Energy from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, April 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Valero Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $247.59.

Valero Energy Price Performance

Shares of VLO stock opened at $260.62 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $247.50 and a 200 day simple moving average of $218.91. The company has a market cap of $77.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.94, a P/E/G ratio of 0.38 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. Valero Energy has a twelve month low of $130.78 and a twelve month high of $272.17.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The oil and gas company reported $4.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.16 by $1.06. The firm had revenue of $32.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.38 billion. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 15.94% and a net margin of 3.37%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.89 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Valero Energy will post 27.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s 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 $5,294,212.14. This trade represents a 27.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.36% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Valero Energy

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VLO. Whipplewood Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 3,400.0% in the 1st 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 during the period. JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the third quarter worth $27,000. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in Valero Energy during the first quarter worth $28,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Valero Energy by 134.0% in the first 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 period. Finally, Torren Management LLC bought a new stake in Valero Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $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.