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If You Invested $1000 in Valero Energy a Decade Ago, This is How Much It'd Be Worth Now

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How much a stock's price changes over time is a significant driver for most investors. Not only can price performance impact your portfolio, but it can help you compare investment results across sectors and industries as well.

The fear of missing out, or FOMO, also plays a factor in investing, especially with particular tech giants, as well as popular consumer-facing stocks.

What if you'd invested in Valero Energy (VLO - Free Report) ten years ago? It may not have been easy to hold on to VLO for all that time, but if you did, how much would your investment be worth today?

Valero Energy's Business In-Depth

With that in mind, let's take a look at Valero Energy's main business drivers.

San Antonio, TX-based Valero Energy Corporation is the largest independent refiner and marketer of petroleum products in the United States. The company was founded in 1980. It has a refining capacity of 3.1 million barrels per day across 15 refineries located throughout the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom.

Moreover, Valero is a leading ethanol producer with 14 ethanol plants in the Midwest that have a combined capacity of 1.73 billion gallons per year. The products of the company are sold in the markets of the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland and Latin America. The company’s brand names are carried by around 7,000 outlets.

The company organizes its business through three reportable segments, namely, Refining, Ethanol and Renewable Diesel.

Refining: It includes refining operations, wholesale marketing, product supply and distribution, and transportation operations. This segment is segregated geographically into the Gulf Coast, mid-continent, West Coast and Northeast regions.

Ethanol: The Ethanol segment includes sales of internally produced ethanol and distillers grains. Operations of this segment are geographically located in the Central Plains region of the United States.

Renewable Diesel: In the first quarter of 2019, the company created this segment. The Renewable Diesel segment incorporates the operations of a consolidated joint venture, Diamond Green Diesel. Notably, the renewable diesel plant is North America’s largest biomass-based diesel plant and it is located in Norco, LA.

Bottom Line

Putting together a successful investment portfolio takes a combination of research, patience, and a little bit of risk. For Valero Energy, if you bought shares a decade ago, you're likely feeling really good about your investment today.

A $1000 investment made in April 2014 would be worth $3,372.38, or a gain of 237.24%, as of April 8, 2024, according to our calculations. This return excludes dividends but includes price appreciation.

In comparison, the S&P 500 gained 179.04% and the price of gold went up 70.62% over the same time frame.

Going forward, analysts are expecting more upside for VLO.

Valero is a premier refining player with presence across North America and the Caribbean. Its diverse network favors robust refining margins, utilizing cost-effective crude for over half its needs. The company is focused on returning capital to shareholders through dividends and share buybacks. The demand for Valero’s distillate fuel is poised to increase from the new sulfur regulation standard set by the International Maritime Organization. However, the refining player may face limited profitability owing to the recent mandate by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, for higher volumes of advanced biofuel to gasoline. Also, the company’s stock price is extremely vulnerable due to commodity price fluctuations. A reduction in renewable diesel margins is hurting the company’s margins. As such, the stock warrants a cautious stance.

The stock is up 22.64% over the past four weeks, and no earnings estimate has gone lower in the past two months, compared to 7 higher, for fiscal 2024. The consensus estimate has moved up as well.

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