North Dakota State Investment Board Makes New Investment in Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

North Dakota State Investment Board bought a new position in Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 10,706 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,743,000.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership bought a new position in shares of Valero Energy during the third quarter valued at approximately $275,239,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 2,635.7% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 950,527 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $154,736,000 after purchasing an additional 915,782 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 5.0% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,273,517 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $897,869,000 after purchasing an additional 249,195 shares in the last quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 96.5% during the third quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 444,919 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $75,752,000 after purchasing an additional 218,448 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its position in Valero Energy by 5.3% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 4,143,672 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $705,502,000 after acquiring an additional 209,597 shares during the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about Valero Energy

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

• Positive Sentiment: Valero hit a new 52-week high, signaling strong momentum as investors continue to bid up the shares. Valero Energy Corporation (VLO) Hits Fresh High: Is There Still Room to Run?
• Positive Sentiment: Recent earnings-related coverage remains upbeat after Valero beat first-quarter expectations and said refining margins should stay strong, reinforcing the case for higher profits. Valero Energy (VLO) Crushes Estimates in Q1, Expects Refining Margins to Remain Strong
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and Zacks noted rising earnings estimates and a strong value profile, which can attract momentum and value investors alike. Earnings Estimates Rising for Valero Energy (VLO): Will It Gain?
• Positive Sentiment: Valero was also included on a Zacks list of strong growth stocks, adding to the bullish narrative around the name. Best Growth Stocks to Buy for May 18th
• Neutral Sentiment: One analyst, Erste Group Bank, trimmed FY2027 EPS slightly, but the change was small and the forecast still remains solid relative to current consensus. Valero Energy Corporation (VLO) Hits Fresh High: Is There Still Room to Run?

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Valero Energy from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Wolfe Research restated an “underperform” rating and issued a $203.00 target price on shares of Valero Energy in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $215.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $255.00 to $276.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $220.00 to $292.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $237.94.

Insider Activity

In other Valero Energy news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 8,311 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.69, for a total value of $1,892,331.59. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 42,242 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,618,080.98. This trade represents a 16.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Valero Energy Trading Up 1.5%

NYSE VLO opened at $262.43 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $240.34 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $203.15. The stock has a market cap of $77.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.07, a P/E/G ratio of 0.36 and a beta of 0.58. Valero Energy Corporation has a 12-month low of $125.10 and a 12-month high of $262.89. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 analysts’ expectations of $31.38 billion. Valero Energy had a net margin of 3.37% and a return on equity of 15.94%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.89 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Valero Energy Corporation will post 28.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be issued a $1.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.88%.

Valero Energy 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.