Range Financial Group LLC Acquires Shares of 1,343 Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Range Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 1,343 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $229,000.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. now owns 4,981 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $648,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG grew its position in shares of Valero Energy by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,005,346 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $142,468,000 after acquiring an additional 55,351 shares during the period. Stiles Financial Services Inc raised its holdings in Valero Energy by 49.7% in the 4th quarter. Stiles Financial Services Inc now owns 7,615 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $991,000 after purchasing an additional 2,529 shares during the period. MGO One Seven LLC boosted its position in Valero Energy by 198.8% during the fourth quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 16,605 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,159,000 after purchasing an additional 11,047 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Valero Energy by 14.0% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,788,994 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $362,569,000 after buying an additional 342,218 shares in the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on VLO shares. TD Cowen cut their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $190.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 29th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $184.00 to $179.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 6th. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on Valero Energy from $187.00 to $169.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Valero Energy from $177.00 to $178.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Argus lowered Valero Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $172.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Valero Energy news, Director Kimberly S. Greene sold 720 shares of the business’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 sale, the director now owns 13,314 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,105,209.68. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Valero Energy Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE VLO opened at $150.73 on Tuesday. Valero Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $111.14 and a 1 year high of $184.79. The company has a market capitalization of $49.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $158.24 and a 200-day simple moving average of $149.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.59 and a quick ratio of 1.10.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last posted its earnings results 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 company 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 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Valero Energy Co. will post 17.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 30th will be issued a $1.07 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 30th. This represents a $4.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.84%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.20%.

Valero Energy 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.