Citigroup Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) Stock

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) had its price target upped by research analysts at Citigroup from $212.00 to $246.00 in a research note issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “neutral” rating on the oil and gas company’s stock. Citigroup’s target price suggests a potential upside of 4.69% from the stock’s current price.

Several other equities analysts also recently issued reports on VLO. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $215.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Argus upgraded shares of Valero Energy to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Valero Energy in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $220.00 to $292.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Finally, Raymond James Financial upped their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $215.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $230.00.

Valero Energy Stock Down 0.3%

Valero Energy stock traded down $0.59 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $234.99. The stock had a trading volume of 1,606,973 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,839,924. Valero Energy has a 52 week low of $106.25 and a 52 week high of $258.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.64 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The company has a market cap of $70.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.76, a PEG ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 0.62. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $223.18 and its 200-day moving average price is $190.57.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The oil and gas company reported $3.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.27 by $0.55. Valero Energy had a net margin of 1.91% and a return on equity of 12.35%. The firm had revenue of $30.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $28.20 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.64 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Valero Energy will post 7.92 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 8,311 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.69, for a total value of $1,892,331.59. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 42,242 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,618,080.98. This represents a 16.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Valero Energy

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. grew its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 7.8% during the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 104,198 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $16,963,000 after purchasing an additional 7,580 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors grew its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 32.4% during the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 6,188 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,007,000 after purchasing an additional 1,514 shares during the period. Larry Mathis Financial Planning LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $314,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 235,035 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $38,264,000 after purchasing an additional 12,295 shares during the period. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 30.1% during the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 685,506 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $111,543,000 after purchasing an additional 158,470 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

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.