Valero Energy Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:VLO)

Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) saw unusually large options trading on Monday. Stock investors bought 14,918 put options on the stock. This is an increase of 85% compared to the average volume of 8,069 put options.

Valero Energy Stock Down 1.0%

Valero Energy stock opened at $178.69 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $170.42 and a 200 day simple moving average of $152.18. The company has a current ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. Valero Energy has a 1-year low of $99.00 and a 1-year high of $185.62. The company has a market cap of $54.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.76.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 23rd. The oil and gas company reported $3.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.15 by $0.51. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 8.69% and a net margin of 1.21%.The company had revenue of $32.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $28.80 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.14 EPS. Valero Energy’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Valero Energy will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 20th will be given a $1.13 dividend. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 20th. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 94.36%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on VLO shares. Morgan Stanley lowered Valero Energy from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $160.00 to $175.00 in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. Bank of America raised Valero Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $152.00 to $179.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $177.00 to $197.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Valero Energy in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $201.00 to $223.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Valero Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $182.00.

Insider Activity at Valero Energy

In related news, CFO Jason W. Fraser sold 9,933 shares of the business’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 transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 134,196 shares in the company, valued at $23,352,787.92. The trade was a 6.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd raised its stake in Valero Energy by 25.2% in the third quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 48,883 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $8,323,000 after purchasing an additional 9,839 shares in the last quarter. Groupama Asset Managment increased its position in Valero Energy by 10.7% in the 3rd quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 173,650 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $29,566,000 after acquiring an additional 16,798 shares during the period. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC raised its position in Valero Energy by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 63,339 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $10,784,000 after purchasing an additional 444 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the third quarter worth approximately $7,313,000. Finally, Danske Bank A S bought a new stake in shares of Valero Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at $2,168,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

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.