Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO – Get Free Report)’s stock price traded down 3.3% on Thursday. The stock traded as low as $437.02 and last traded at $444.4450. 2,512,636 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 24% from the average session volume of 3,322,583 shares. The stock had previously closed at $459.78.
Key Stories Impacting Valero Energy
Here are the key news stories impacting Valero Energy this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Analysts raised their price targets: Wells Fargo lifted its target to $485 from $389 and upgraded VLO to “overweight.” Citigroup also raised its target to $485 from $302, although it retained a “neutral” rating. The revisions reflect stronger expectations for refining profitability and provide a bullish signal for investor sentiment. Wells Fargo Adjusts Price Target on Valero Energy Citigroup Raises VLO Target to $485
- Positive Sentiment: Refining-margin outlook remains favorable: Valero’s ability to source discounted heavy sour crude, including Canadian and potentially Venezuelan supplies, could support margins by lowering feedstock costs and improving refinery economics. Can Valero’s Heavy Crude Advantage Support Stronger Refining Margins?
- Positive Sentiment: Recent operating momentum is strong: Coverage points to resilient fuel demand and tighter product supply as key reasons Valero returned to substantial profitability. VLO was also included in a Zacks list of top-ranked growth stocks. What Did Valero Stock Investors Miss Before the Run?
- Neutral Sentiment: Earnings are approaching: Valero is scheduled to report quarterly results next week. Analysts expect earnings growth, and Erste Group raised its fiscal-year EPS estimates, but it continues to rate the shares “hold.” Valero Energy Set to Announce Quarterly Earnings
- Negative Sentiment: Beat expectations are not especially strong: Zacks says VLO lacks the combination of estimate revisions and earnings-surprise factors that typically signal a likely earnings beat. That caution may weigh on the stock ahead of results, particularly after its substantial recent advance. Valero Energy Earnings Expected to Grow
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
VLO has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Valero Energy from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of Valero Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 27th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $401.00 to $394.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $329.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 3rd. Finally, Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $300.00 to $434.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Valero Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $382.62.
Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on VLO
Valero Energy Stock Performance
The company has a 50-day moving average of $377.35 and a 200-day moving average of $301.37. The company has a market cap of $127.97 billion, a PE ratio of 18.44, a PEG ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37.
Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The oil and gas company reported $12.54 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.11 by $2.43. The business had revenue of $44.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $39.47 billion. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 26.74% and a net margin of 5.17%. Valero Energy’s quarterly revenue was up 48.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.28 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Valero Energy Corporation will post 51.77 earnings per share for the current year.
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in Valero Energy by 11.4% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 5,033,310 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,243,630,000 after purchasing an additional 516,975 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 9.4% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,969,320 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $733,660,000 after purchasing an additional 254,604 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its position in shares of Valero Energy by 18.4% in 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 buying an additional 442,177 shares in the last quarter. Amundi boosted its stake in Valero Energy by 45.3% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 2,584,976 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $638,695,000 after buying an additional 806,018 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in 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 valued at $536,074,000 after buying an additional 520,642 shares during the period. 78.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
About Valero Energy
Valero Energy Corporation is an international petroleum refining, renewable fuels and marketing company headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. Founded in 1980, the company processes crude oil and other feedstocks into transportation fuels and other products used by commercial, industrial and consumer customers.
Valero’s refined products include gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, asphalt, lubricants and petrochemical feedstocks. The company also produces and markets ethanol and renewable diesel, including through its Diamond Green Diesel joint venture with Darling Ingredients.
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