Caprock Group LLC Invests $3.28 Million in Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Caprock Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 19,252 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,278,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of VLO. Highline Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in Valero Energy by 70.2% in the third quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 160 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates acquired a new position in shares of Valero Energy during the third quarter worth $34,000. Cypress Capital Management LLC WY bought a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at $34,000. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 145.3% during the 3rd quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 211 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its position in Valero Energy by 1,277.8% during the 2nd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 248 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 230 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Bank of America reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $195.00 target price (down previously from $198.00) on shares of Valero Energy in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Valero Energy from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $217.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Valero Energy in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Argus raised shares of Valero Energy to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $187.67.

Insider Activity at Valero Energy

In related news, CFO Jason W. Fraser sold 9,933 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.02, for a total transaction of $1,728,540.66. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 134,196 shares in the company, valued at $23,352,787.92. This represents a 6.89% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Valero Energy Stock Down 3.4%

Valero Energy stock opened at $196.97 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $60.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.78, a PEG ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.77. Valero Energy Corporation has a 52-week low of $99.00 and a 52-week high of $206.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.60. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $178.91 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $166.84.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The oil and gas company reported $3.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.27 by $0.55. Valero Energy had a net margin of 1.91% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The company had revenue of $30.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $28.20 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.64 earnings per share. Valero Energy’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Valero Energy Corporation will post 7.92 EPS for the current year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 9th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 5th will be paid a $1.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 5th. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. This is a positive change from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.13. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.83%.

Valero Energy Company Profile

Valero Energy Corporation is a San Antonio, Texas–based integrated downstream energy company that manufactures and markets transportation fuels, petrochemical feedstocks and other industrial products. The company’s operations focus on refining crude oil into finished fuels such as gasoline, diesel and jet fuel, as well as producing asphalt and other refined product streams for commercial and industrial customers.

In addition to refining, Valero has significant operations in renewable fuels, including the production of ethanol and other biofuels, and it manages an extensive logistics network of pipelines, terminals, rail and marine assets to move feedstocks and finished products.