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

Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Thursday. Investors acquired 11,077 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 31% compared to the average volume of 8,480 put options.

More Valero Energy News

Here are the key news stories impacting Valero Energy this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Valero has benefited from repeated analyst upgrades and higher price targets, including Citigroup lifting its target to $302, which helped reinforce the stock’s recent strength and pushed shares to new highs. Valero Energy had its price target raised by Citigroup Inc. from $259.00 to $302.00.
• Positive Sentiment: Several articles highlighted Valero’s rising earnings estimates and momentum profile, suggesting investors expect improving fundamentals and continued upside potential. Can Valero Energy (VLO) Run Higher on Rising Earnings Estimates?
• Positive Sentiment: Refining-sector optimism is also supportive, with strong refining margins and tight fuel markets seen as favorable for companies like Valero’s peer Marathon Petroleum, which can spill over to sentiment across the refining group. How Current Refining Margins Are Driving an Edge for MPC (Revised)
• Neutral Sentiment: Valero saw unusually heavy options activity, with both call and put buying above average. That can signal elevated investor interest, but it does not clearly point to one direction.
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent coverage also framed Valero as a top-ranked value stock and a recent market outperformer, reinforcing that the stock has already had a strong move and may now be trading on expectations rather than fresh company-specific news. Valero Energy (VLO) is a Top-Ranked Value Stock: Should You Buy?
• Negative Sentiment: Heavy put buying on Thursday suggests some traders are hedging against a pullback after the sharp rally, which may reflect concern that the stock has moved too far, too fast.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Valero Energy news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.17, for a total value of $2,011,275.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 19,742 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,294,212.14. This represents a 27.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Whipplewood Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 3,400.0% during the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 105 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in Valero Energy in the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Valero Energy by 134.0% during the 1st quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 117 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Global Assets Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Valero Energy during the 1st quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, JPL Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Valero Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Valero Energy Stock Up 3.4%

Shares of VLO traded up $9.81 on Thursday, reaching $302.48. The stock had a trading volume of 959,594 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,483,621. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.58. Valero Energy has a 12-month low of $130.78 and a 12-month high of $303.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $89.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.37 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $256.30 and a 200-day simple moving average of $227.80.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The oil and gas company reported $4.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.16 by $1.06. The business had revenue of $32.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.38 billion. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 15.94% and a net margin of 3.37%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.89 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Valero Energy will post 32.04 EPS for the current year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, May 21st were paid a dividend of $1.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is presently 34.88%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Valero Energy from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Zacks Research downgraded Valero Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $280.00 target price on shares of Valero Energy in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on Valero Energy from $236.00 to $263.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Valero Energy from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $253.06.

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.