Analyst Joe Laetsch from Morgan Stanley maintained a Buy rating on Valero Energy and keeping the price target at $145.00.
Elevate Your Investing Strategy:
- Take advantage of TipRanks Premium at 50% off! Unlock powerful investing tools, advanced data, and expert analyst insights to help you invest with confidence.
- Make smarter investment decisions with TipRanks' Smart Investor Picks, delivered to your inbox every week.
Joe Laetsch has given his Buy rating due to a combination of factors influencing Valero Energy’s performance. The company is expected to benefit from higher throughput and rising benchmark cracks, which have increased by approximately 25% quarter-over-quarter due to strong demand and tight product inventories, particularly in the diesel market. Despite some limitations in capture rate improvements caused by tighter crude differentials and other cost factors, the overall refining results are supported by these positive market conditions.
Additionally, Valero’s Renewable Diesel segment is anticipated to see improved capture rates, driven by higher D4 RIN prices and a full quarter of production tax credit recognition, despite some challenges from rising feedstock costs. The Ethanol segment also shows modest improvement with a 20% increase in the indicator, although slightly offset by weaker distillers grains prices. These factors collectively contribute to a positive outlook for Valero Energy, justifying the Buy rating.
Laetsch covers the Energy sector, focusing on stocks such as Delek US Holdings, Marathon Petroleum, and Phillips 66. According to TipRanks, Laetsch has an average return of 2.2% and a 64.81% success rate on recommended stocks.
In another report released yesterday, Barclays also maintained a Buy rating on the stock with a $151.00 price target.