VLO - Delek joins Buy list at Piper Sandler in upbeat outlook for U.S. refiners

Delek US ([[DK]] -1.1%) is upgraded to Overweight from Neutral with a $30 price target at Piper Sander, which calls the company its favorite small- to mid-cap refining play, but shares trade lower in a generally down day for oil and gas names.Delek shares are "increasingly compelling vs. peers," says Piper Sandler's Ryan Todd, particularly with a favorable margin environment driving a restart of Krotz Springs in March and sustainability on a lower for longer cost structure.More broadly, Todd expects continued momentum in refinery stocks heading into summer as the U.S. re-opening continues to gain momentum.Elsewhere in its coverage of independent refiners, the firm also has Overweight ratings on HollyFrontier ([[HFC]] -3.9%), Marathon Petroleum ([[MPC]] -1%) and Valero ([[VLO]] -1%), while rating Par pacific ([[PARR]] -4.8%), PBF Energy ([[PBF]] -5.1%) and Phillips 66 ([[PSX]] -2.6%) at Neutral.Delek recently reported a larger than expected Q1 loss but stronger than forecast revenues.

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Delek joins Buy list at Piper Sandler in upbeat outlook for U.S. refiners