Barclays Trims Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) Target Price to $146.00

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) had its price objective lowered by Barclays from $165.00 to $146.00 in a research note released on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the oil and gas company’s stock.

VLO has been the topic of a number of other reports. Scotiabank lifted their target price on Valero Energy from $165.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock a sector outperform rating in a research note on Friday, July 12th. Mizuho lowered their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $175.00 to $171.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $165.00 to $172.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $149.00 to $131.00 and set a sell rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered Valero Energy from an overweight rating to a neutral rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $169.00 to $123.00 in a report on Friday, September 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $165.20.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

Shares of VLO stock opened at $142.42 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 1.48 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $142.67 and a 200-day moving average of $153.79. Valero Energy has a one year low of $119.88 and a one year high of $184.79. The company has a market cap of $46.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.05, a P/E/G ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 1.39.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The oil and gas company reported $2.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.60 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $34.49 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $32.97 billion. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 21.01% and a net margin of 4.25%. The company’s revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $5.40 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Valero Energy will post 10.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 1st were given a $1.07 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 1st. This represents a $4.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.01%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.20%.

Institutional Trading of Valero Energy

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of VLO. EdgeRock Capital LLC bought a new stake in Valero Energy during the second quarter valued at $27,000. Lynx Investment Advisory bought a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the second quarter worth approximately $29,000. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new stake in Valero Energy in the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Valero Energy during the first quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Pathway Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new position in Valero Energy in the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,000. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.