Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at Tudor Pickering

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) was upgraded by investment analysts at Tudor Pickering from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

VLO has been the topic of several other research reports. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Valero Energy in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $150.00 target price on the stock. Mizuho reduced their price objective on Valero Energy from $165.00 to $158.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Barclays lowered their target price on Valero Energy from $146.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 11th. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on Valero Energy from $145.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Scotiabank reduced their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $173.00 to $141.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $154.46.

Valero Energy Price Performance

Shares of VLO opened at $140.54 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.57. The stock has a market cap of $44.49 billion, a PE ratio of 16.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 1.42. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $130.82 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $137.31. Valero Energy has a fifty-two week low of $116.84 and a fifty-two week high of $184.79.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The oil and gas company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.50. Valero Energy had a net margin of 2.13% and a return on equity of 9.58%. Analysts anticipate that Valero Energy will post 8.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Valero Energy

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Valero Energy during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Valero Energy during the third quarter valued at $28,000. Tobam bought a new stake in shares of Valero Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA purchased a new position in shares of Valero Energy during the 3rd quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC lifted its stake in Valero Energy by 196.8% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 276 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.