Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) Shares Down 2.6% – Should You Sell?

Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) was down 2.6% during trading on Monday. The company traded as low as $431.23 and last traded at $433.0160. 2,290,282 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 31% from the average session volume of 3,311,299 shares. The stock had previously closed at $444.71.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VLO has been the topic of several analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on Valero Energy from $401.00 to $394.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $467.00 price target on shares of Valero Energy in a research note on Tuesday, October 6th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Valero Energy from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $300.00 to $434.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $365.00 to $457.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $382.62.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $124.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.97, a PEG ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 1.64. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $383.13 and its 200 day moving average is $304.08.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The oil and gas company reported $12.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $10.11 by $2.43. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 26.74% and a net margin of 5.17%. The firm had revenue of $44.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $39.47 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.28 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 48.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Valero Energy Corporation will post 51.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Valero Energy

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of VLO. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,195,943,000. Amundi increased its position in shares of Valero Energy by 45.3% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 2,584,976 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $638,695,000 after acquiring an additional 806,018 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in shares of Valero Energy by 33.9% during the second quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,058,341 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $536,074,000 after acquiring an additional 520,642 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LP acquired a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the second quarter worth $59,917,000. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings 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 period. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Valero Energy Company Profile

Valero Energy Corporation is an international energy company headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. The company’s primary business is refining and marketing transportation fuels, including gasoline, diesel, jet fuel and other products used by commercial, industrial and consumer customers.

Valero operates refineries in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. Its refining operations also produce asphalt, petrochemical feedstocks and other petroleum-based products. The company markets fuel through wholesale channels and branded retail networks, including Valero, Beacon and Shamrock-branded locations.

In addition to conventional refining, Valero has businesses focused on renewable fuels.