1,501 Shares in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) Bought by Woodstock Corp

Woodstock Corp purchased a new stake in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 1,501 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $256,000.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Valero Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Valero Energy during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Valero Energy during the fourth quarter worth $36,000. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Valero Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, McIlrath & Eck LLC increased its holdings 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 buying an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VLO has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 15th. Scotiabank upped their target price on Valero Energy from $138.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Argus cut shares of Valero Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $177.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $130.00 to $171.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $172.00.

Valero Energy Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of Valero Energy stock traded up $2.31 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $152.25. The stock had a trading volume of 905,433 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,074,890. The firm has a market cap of $49.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $159.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $148.84. Valero Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $108.28 and a 12-month high of $184.79.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The oil and gas company reported $3.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $32.02 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $8.27 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Valero Energy Co. will post 17.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 30th will be issued a dividend of $1.07 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 30th. This represents a $4.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.81%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.20%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Valero Energy

In related news, Director Kimberly S. Greene sold 720 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.12, for a total transaction of $113,846.40. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 13,314 shares in the company, valued at $2,105,209.68. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.04% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.