Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) Research Coverage Started at Evercore ISI

Evercore ISI began coverage on shares of Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) in a report released on Wednesday, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage issued an in-line rating and a $135.00 price target on the oil and gas company’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently commented on the company. Raymond James Financial decreased their target price on Valero Energy from $165.00 to $155.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on Valero Energy from $121.00 to $118.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Valero Energy from $152.00 to $147.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on Valero Energy from $144.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Valero Energy from $160.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $150.88.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:VLO opened at $141.16 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $125.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $127.60. Valero Energy has a 52-week low of $99.00 and a 52-week high of $167.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.21 billion, a PE ratio of 49.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.99.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The oil and gas company reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.16 by ($0.27). Valero Energy had a net margin of 0.72% and a return on equity of 6.30%. The business had revenue of $28.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $28.54 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.82 earnings per share. Valero Energy’s revenue was down 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Valero Energy will post 7.92 EPS for the current year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 20th were paid a $1.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 20th. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.20%. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is presently 159.72%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Voya Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Valero Energy by 18.9% in the first quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 207,823 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $27,447,000 after acquiring an additional 33,003 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 12.4% in the 1st quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 2,367 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $313,000 after acquiring an additional 262 shares during the period. Strs Ohio acquired a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the 1st quarter valued at $15,994,000. Jacobi Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Valero Energy by 4.1% in the 1st quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 15,876 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,097,000 after buying an additional 624 shares during the period. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Valero Energy by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 103,364 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $13,644,000 after buying an additional 2,609 shares during the period. 78.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Valero Energy

Valero Energy Corporation manufactures, markets, and sells petroleum-based and low-carbon liquid transportation fuels and petrochemical products in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Latin America, Mexico, Peru, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Refining, Renewable Diesel, and Ethanol.