Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) Sets New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $242.56 and last traded at $239.2710, with a volume of 841778 shares. The stock had previously closed at $235.96.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VLO has been the topic of several research reports. Mizuho restated a “neutral” rating and set a $192.00 price objective (up from $190.00) on shares of Valero Energy in a report on Friday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Valero Energy from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Zacks Research lowered Valero Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Argus raised shares of Valero Energy to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Valero Energy in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $193.20.

Valero Energy Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The firm has a market cap of $71.59 billion, a PE ratio of 31.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.70. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $200.04 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $179.18.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The oil and gas company reported $3.82 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.27 by $0.55. The firm 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 12.35%. Valero Energy’s revenue was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.64 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Valero Energy Corporation will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 9th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 5th were issued a dividend of $1.20 per share. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. This is a boost from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.13. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 5th. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 62.83%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 8,311 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.69, for a total value of $1,892,331.59. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 42,242 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,618,080.98. This represents a 16.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Valero Energy

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $1,111,542,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership purchased a new stake in Valero Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $275,239,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Valero Energy by 2,635.7% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 950,527 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $154,736,000 after buying an additional 915,782 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Valero Energy by 49.3% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,696,811 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $276,224,000 after buying an additional 560,116 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in Valero Energy by 7.5% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,668,210 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $922,728,000 after buying an additional 394,693 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.