Valero Energy PT Raised to $140.00 at Wells Fargo & Company

Valero Energy had its target price upped by equities research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $137.00 to $140.00 in a research report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "overweight" rating on the oil and gas company's stock. Wells Fargo & Company's target price points to a potential upside of 15.43% from the company's previous close.

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A number of other research firms have also commented on VLO. StockNews.com lowered shares of Valero Energy from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 6th. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on Valero Energy from $177.00 to $165.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 19th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Valero Energy from $134.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 26th. Cowen lowered their target price on Valero Energy to $127.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 20th. Finally, Raymond James upped their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $150.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $139.00.

Valero Energy Price Performance

NYSE:VLO traded up $1.67 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $121.29. The company's stock had a trading volume of 28,998 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,482,558. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $127.89 and a 200-day moving average of $117.46. The company has a market capitalization of $46.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.63. Valero Energy has a fifty-two week low of $75.04 and a fifty-two week high of $146.80.

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Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO - Get Rating) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 25th. The oil and gas company reported $7.14 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.00 by $0.14. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 43.20% and a net margin of 5.53%. The business had revenue of $44.45 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $41.16 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.22 EPS. Valero Energy's revenue was up 50.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Valero Energy will post 27.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Valero Energy

In other Valero Energy news, EVP Gary K. Simmons sold 1,750 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.16, for a total value of $236,530.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 165,299 shares of the company's stock, valued at $22,341,812.84. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, EVP Gary K. Simmons sold 1,750 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.16, for a total value of $236,530.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 165,299 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,341,812.84. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Joseph W. Gorder sold 37,567 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.00, for a total transaction of $4,771,009.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 569,786 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $72,362,822. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.04% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Valero Energy

Valero Energy Stock is a Key Energy Infrastructure Stock

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 3.2% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 47,955,666 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $4,869,418,000 after acquiring an additional 1,499,939 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Valero Energy by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 29,341,245 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $3,118,388,000 after buying an additional 700,532 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its stake in Valero Energy by 53.4% in the second quarter. FMR LLC now owns 15,471,401 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $1,644,300,000 after buying an additional 5,384,997 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 8.3% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,635,050 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $775,264,000 after buying an additional 587,056 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Valero Energy by 4.4% during the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,785,075 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $404,460,000 after acquiring an additional 159,680 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.28% of the company's stock.

Valero Energy Company Profile (Get Rating)

Valero Energy Corporation manufactures, markets, and sells transportation fuels and petrochemical products in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, and internationally. The company operates through three segments: Refining, Renewable Diesel, and Ethanol. It produces conventional, premium, and reformulated gasolines; gasoline meeting the specifications of the California Air Resources Board (CARB); diesel fuels, and low-sulfur and ultra-low-sulfur diesel fuels; CARB diesel; other distillates; jet fuels; blendstocks; and asphalts, petrochemicals, lubricants, and other refined petroleum products, as well as sells lube oils and natural gas liquids.