Valero Energy (VLO) closed the most recent trading day at $126.85, moving +0.67% from the previous trading session. This change outpaced the S&P 500's 0.55% gain on the day. Meanwhile, the Dow gained 0.52%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, added 0.7%.

The oil refiner's shares have seen a decrease of 6.17% over the last month, surpassing the Oils-Energy sector's loss of 6.33% and falling behind the S&P 500's loss of 5.56%.

The upcoming earnings release of Valero Energy will be of great interest to investors. The company is expected to report EPS of $0.72, down 81.15% from the prior-year quarter. Simultaneously, our latest consensus estimate expects the revenue to be $28.75 billion, showing a 9.48% drop compared to the year-ago quarter.

For the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates project earnings of $7.97 per share and a revenue of $118.57 billion, demonstrating changes of -6.01% and -8.71%, respectively, from the preceding year.

Furthermore, it would be beneficial for investors to monitor any recent shifts in analyst projections for Valero Energy. These latest adjustments often mirror the shifting dynamics of short-term business patterns. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the company's business and profitability.

Research indicates that these estimate revisions are directly correlated with near-term share price momentum. We developed the Zacks Rank to capitalize on this phenomenon. Our system takes these estimate changes into account and delivers a clear, actionable rating model.

The Zacks Rank system ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell). It has a remarkable, outside-audited track record of success, with #1 stocks delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection has moved 1.31% higher. Currently, Valero Energy is carrying a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

In the context of valuation, Valero Energy is at present trading with a Forward P/E ratio of 15.81. This denotes no noticeable deviation relative to the industry's average Forward P/E of 15.81.

One should further note that VLO currently holds a PEG ratio of 2.64. The PEG ratio is akin to the commonly utilized P/E ratio, but this measure also incorporates the company's anticipated earnings growth rate. Oil and Gas - Refining and Marketing stocks are, on average, holding a PEG ratio of 2.64 based on yesterday's closing prices.

The Oil and Gas - Refining and Marketing industry is part of the Oils-Energy sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 200, which puts it in the bottom 21% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank assesses the strength of our separate industry groups by calculating the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks contained within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

Don't forget to use Zacks.com to keep track of all these stock-moving metrics, and others, in the upcoming trading sessions.

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Valero Energy Corporation (VLO) : Free Stock Analysis Report

This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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