Orrstown Financial Services Inc. Takes $224,000 Position in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Orrstown Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 1,699 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $224,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Valero Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $669,400,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Valero Energy by 16.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 34,725,700 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $4,257,024,000 after purchasing an additional 4,805,133 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Valero Energy by 15,395.5% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,355,699 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $179,047,000 after purchasing an additional 1,346,950 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the fourth quarter worth approximately $132,469,000. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the fourth quarter worth approximately $98,376,000. Institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Valero Energy Price Performance

VLO opened at $128.35 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $120.32 and its 200 day simple moving average is $127.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 1.11. Valero Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $99.00 and a 1 year high of $167.78. The firm has a market cap of $40.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.14, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.99.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The oil and gas company reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.16 by ($0.27). Valero Energy had a return on equity of 9.58% and a net margin of 2.13%. The firm had revenue of $28.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $28.54 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.82 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Valero Energy Co. will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 20th will be issued a $1.13 dividend. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 20th. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 159.72%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on VLO. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $160.00 to $150.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 28th. Mizuho increased their target price on Valero Energy from $158.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Valero Energy from $152.00 to $147.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Valero Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $127.00 to $154.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on Valero Energy from $144.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $151.93.

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.