Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) Hits New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

Shares of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $197.94 and last traded at $195.0260, with a volume of 346263 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $192.27.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Erste Group Bank began coverage on shares of Valero Energy in a research note on Monday, November 10th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Raymond James Financial reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $195.00 price target (up from $181.00) on shares of Valero Energy in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Valero Energy in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Valero Energy from $197.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. One investment analyst has 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, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $183.53.

Valero Energy Price Performance

The stock has a 50 day moving average of $177.10 and a two-hundred day moving average of $165.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.60. The stock has a market cap of $61.80 billion, a PE ratio of 26.52, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.77.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The oil and gas company reported $3.82 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.27 by $0.55. The company had revenue of $30.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $28.20 billion. Valero Energy had a net margin of 1.91% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.64 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Valero Energy Corporation will post 7.92 EPS for the current year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 9th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 5th will be given a dividend of $1.20 per share. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 5th. This is a positive change from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.13. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 62.83%.

Insider Transactions at Valero Energy

In other news, CFO Jason W. Fraser sold 9,933 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.02, for a total value of $1,728,540.66. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 134,196 shares in the company, valued at $23,352,787.92. This represents a 6.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of VLO. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,724,707 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,576,035,000 after purchasing an additional 286,942 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 16.7% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,141,511 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,089,897,000 after purchasing an additional 1,164,217 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Valero Energy during the second quarter valued at approximately $827,390,000. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in Valero Energy by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,273,517 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $897,869,000 after buying an additional 249,195 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its position in Valero Energy by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 4,143,672 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $705,502,000 after buying an additional 209,597 shares in the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.