Exchange Bank Invests $215,000 in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Exchange Bank bought a new position in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 1,258 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $215,000.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of VLO. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new position in Valero Energy in the first quarter valued at about $33,000. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Valero Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Valero Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, McIlrath & Eck LLC raised its position in Valero Energy by 40.3% in the third quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 303 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on Valero Energy from $187.00 to $169.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, June 14th. Bank of America upgraded Valero Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $156.00 to $210.00 in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Scotiabank raised their price objective on Valero Energy from $138.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Mizuho lowered their price objective on Valero Energy from $176.00 to $171.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 20th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Valero Energy from $130.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Valero Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $172.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Valero Energy

In other news, Director Kimberly S. Greene sold 720 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.12, for a total value of $113,846.40. Following the transaction, the director now owns 13,314 shares in the company, valued at $2,105,209.68. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Valero Energy Stock Down 0.4 %

Valero Energy stock traded down $0.68 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $153.11. The stock had a trading volume of 1,077,259 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,123,469. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.59. Valero Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $112.04 and a fifty-two week high of $184.79. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $157.94 and its 200-day simple moving average is $149.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.07 billion, a PE ratio of 7.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.47.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The oil and gas company reported $3.82 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.18 by $0.64. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 24.82% and a net margin of 5.01%. The firm had revenue of $31.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $32.02 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $8.27 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Valero Energy Co. will post 17.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 30th will be paid a $1.07 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 30th. This represents a $4.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.80%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.20%.

Valero Energy Company Profile

Valero Energy Corporation manufactures, markets, and sells petroleum-based and low-carbon liquid transportation fuels and petrochemical products in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Latin America, Mexico, Peru, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Refining, Renewable Diesel, and Ethanol.