Investors Buy High Volume of Call Options on Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO)

Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) saw some unusual options trading on Monday. Investors acquired 21,201 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 59% compared to the typical volume of 13,311 call options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on VLO. Bank of America upgraded Valero Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $156.00 to $210.00 in a research note on Friday, March 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $177.00 to $178.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Valero Energy from $130.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. 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, TD Cowen lowered their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $190.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $172.00.

Valero Energy Price Performance

Shares of VLO stock opened at $153.74 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $50.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a current ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. Valero Energy has a 12 month low of $111.14 and a 12 month high of $184.79. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $157.94 and a two-hundred day moving average of $149.80.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The oil and gas company reported $3.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.18 by $0.64. The company had revenue of $31.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $32.02 billion. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 24.82% and a net margin of 5.01%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $8.27 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Valero Energy will post 17.32 EPS for the current year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 30th will be given a dividend of $1.07 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 30th. This represents a $4.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.78%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.20%.

Insider Activity

In other Valero Energy news, Director Kimberly S. Greene sold 720 shares of Valero Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 9th. The stock was 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 approximately $2,105,209.68. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Valero Energy

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Valero Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Valero Energy during the 1st quarter worth about $33,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC bought a new position in Valero Energy in the first quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Valero Energy during the fourth quarter worth $36,000. Finally, First Foundation Advisors bought a new stake in shares of Valero Energy in the 1st quarter valued at about $37,000. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.