After Green Plains (GPRE) announced an agreement to sell three ethanol plants to Valero (VLO) and an agreement to acquire storage and transportation assets from Green Plains Partners (GPP), Stephens analyst Farha Aslam said she sees this as the first step in the company's plan to divest non-core assets to reduce debt. She expects an announcement of two to three more plant sales to come later this month, Aslam added. The deal with Valero, which involves about 20% of Green Plains' reported capacity, is anticipated along with the Partners transaction to be 10c dilutive to FY19 EPS, Aslam estimates. She lowered her price target on Green Plains shares to $18 from $20 and keeps an Equal Weight rating on the stock, citing what she views as "challenging" fundamentals in the ethanol industry.

Citi analyst Vikram Bagri raised the firm's price target on Valero to $192 from $160 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares. The analyst refreshed the company's model for the latest commodity prices. Valero embarked on a larger maintenance period in Q1, which should position the company well ahead of a potentially strong summer driving season, the analyst tells investors in a research note. However, Citi sees low prospects for a sharp price reaction to the Q1 print with the shares up 29% year-to-date.