Claro Advisors LLC Acquires 93 Shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Claro Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 3.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,154 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the quarter. Claro Advisors LLC’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $538,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Diversified Trust Co lifted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 150.7% during the first quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 24,555 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $4,191,000 after purchasing an additional 14,760 shares during the last quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Valero Energy during the first quarter valued at $354,000. Mirador Capital Partners LP purchased a new position in shares of Valero Energy during the first quarter valued at $271,000. Chapin Davis Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Valero Energy during the first quarter valued at $206,000. Finally, Trilogy Capital Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Valero Energy during the first quarter valued at $2,925,000. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on VLO. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Valero Energy from $130.00 to $171.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Scotiabank raised their price target on Valero Energy from $138.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Citigroup raised their price target on Valero Energy from $160.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Piper Sandler cut their target price on Valero Energy from $187.00 to $169.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, June 14th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded Valero Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $156.00 to $210.00 in a research note on Friday, March 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Valero Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $171.87.

Insider Activity

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 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 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 link. Corporate insiders own 0.47% of the company’s stock.

Valero Energy Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of VLO traded up $1.22 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $157.98. 2,205,462 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,140,217. Valero Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $112.16 and a 1-year 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 market capitalization of $51.66 billion, a PE ratio of 7.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.42. The business has a 50 day moving average of $157.35 and a 200 day moving average of $150.47.

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 net margin of 5.01% and a return on equity of 24.82%. 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 prior year, the company posted $8.27 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Valero Energy Co. will post 16.09 EPS for the current year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 30th were issued a dividend of $1.07 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 30th. This represents a $4.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.71%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.