Scotiabank Has Lowered Expectations for Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) Stock Price

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) had its price objective decreased by Scotiabank from $156.00 to $136.00 in a research note published on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. Scotiabank currently has a sector outperform rating on the oil and gas company’s stock.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the company. Tudor Pickering raised Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $160.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James decreased their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $165.00 to $155.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Piper Sandler cut their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $149.00 to $144.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $165.00 to $158.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $152.46.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

VLO opened at $110.59 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $34.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $127.99 and a 200 day moving average price of $131.73. Valero Energy has a 1 year low of $99.00 and a 1 year high of $178.39.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The oil and gas company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.50. Valero Energy had a net margin of 2.13% and a return on equity of 9.58%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Valero Energy will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 30th were issued a dividend of $1.13 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 30th. This is a boost from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.07. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.09%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 53.30%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of VLO. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Valero Energy in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $669,400,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Valero Energy by 16.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 34,725,700 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $4,257,024,000 after purchasing an additional 4,805,133 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Valero Energy by 15,395.5% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,355,699 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $179,047,000 after purchasing an additional 1,346,950 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Valero Energy during the fourth quarter worth $132,469,000. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new position in shares of Valero Energy during the fourth quarter worth $98,376,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

About Valero Energy

Valero Energy Corporation manufactures, markets, and sells petroleum-based and low-carbon liquid transportation fuels and petrochemical products in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Latin America, Mexico, Peru, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Refining, Renewable Diesel, and Ethanol.