1,101 Shares in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) Purchased by Register Financial Advisors LLC

Register Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 1,101 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $188,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Valero Energy by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,691 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,142,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the period. Hennessy Advisors Inc. raised its position in Valero Energy by 27.2% in the 1st quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 58,450 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $9,977,000 after purchasing an additional 12,500 shares during the period. Jessup Wealth Management Inc purchased a new stake in Valero Energy in the 1st quarter worth about $4,504,000. Pasadena Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Valero Energy during the first quarter worth approximately $229,000. Finally, Overbrook Management Corp purchased a new position in shares of Valero Energy during the first quarter worth approximately $4,611,000. 78.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on VLO. Bank of America raised shares of Valero Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $156.00 to $210.00 in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $160.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price 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. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $138.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $130.00 to $171.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Valero Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $172.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Valero Energy

In other Valero Energy news, Director Kimberly S. Greene sold 720 shares of the firm’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 value of $113,846.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 13,314 shares in the company, valued at $2,105,209.68. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.04% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Valero Energy Price Performance

Shares of VLO opened at $156.77 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $51.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.47. Valero Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $112.16 and a twelve month high of $184.79. 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 company has a 50 day moving average of $157.35 and a two-hundred day moving average of $150.09.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The oil and gas company reported $3.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.18 by $0.64. The company had revenue of $31.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $32.02 billion. Valero Energy had a net margin of 5.01% and a return on equity of 24.82%. Valero Energy’s revenue was down 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $8.27 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Valero Energy Co. will post 16.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 30th were paid a $1.07 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 30th. This represents a $4.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.73%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.20%.

About Valero Energy

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.