Chapin Davis Inc. Purchases Shares of 1,205 Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Chapin Davis Inc. bought a new position in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 1,205 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $206,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of VLO. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the first quarter worth $33,000. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the fourth quarter worth $36,000. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the fourth quarter worth $38,000. Finally, McIlrath & Eck LLC increased its position in shares of Valero Energy by 40.3% in the third quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 303 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Kimberly S. Greene sold 720 shares of Valero Energy stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 9th. The stock was 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 owns 13,314 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,105,209.68. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.47% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Valero Energy Price Performance

Shares of VLO opened at $157.98 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap 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 company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.59. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $157.35 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $150.47. Valero Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $112.16 and a 52-week high of $184.79.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last announced its earnings results 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $32.02 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $8.27 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Valero Energy Co. will post 16.09 EPS for the current year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 30th were issued a $1.07 dividend. This represents a $4.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 30th. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.20%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VLO has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Bank of America upgraded Valero Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $156.00 to $210.00 in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Mizuho decreased their price target on Valero Energy from $176.00 to $171.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 20th. UBS Group raised their price target on Valero Energy from $167.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on Valero Energy from $187.00 to $169.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, June 14th. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their target price on Valero Energy from $138.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $171.87.

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.