Brokerages Set Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) PT at $183.00

Shares of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $183.00.

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Valero Energy from $197.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Bank of America reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $195.00 price objective (down from $198.00) on shares of Valero Energy in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Morgan Stanley cut shares of Valero Energy from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $160.00 to $175.00 in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Zacks Research cut shares of Valero Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $169.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 17th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Valero Energy news, CFO Jason W. Fraser sold 9,933 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.02, for a total transaction of $1,728,540.66. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 134,196 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,352,787.92. This trade represents a 6.89% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of VLO. Woodline Partners LP increased its stake in Valero Energy by 40.7% in the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 26,747 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,532,000 after buying an additional 7,735 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 13.0% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,929 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $259,000 after acquiring an additional 222 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio boosted its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 2.0% in the second quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 147,448 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $19,820,000 after acquiring an additional 2,946 shares in the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 18.2% during the second quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 2,293 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $308,000 after acquiring an additional 353 shares during the period. Finally, Dakota Wealth Management raised its holdings in Valero Energy by 23.4% during the second quarter. Dakota Wealth Management now owns 12,686 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,705,000 after purchasing an additional 2,406 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

Shares of VLO stock opened at $183.42 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $174.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $162.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.60. Valero Energy has a 1 year low of $99.00 and a 1 year high of $194.35. The firm has a market cap of $55.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.29, a PEG ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.77.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 5th will be issued a dividend of $1.20 per share. This is an increase from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.13. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 5th. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 94.36%.

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.