Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) Trading Up 6% – Time to Buy?

Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) shot up 6% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $282.49 and last traded at $282.2880. 1,174,123 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 66% from the average daily volume of 3,495,232 shares. The stock had previously closed at $266.22.

Key Stories Impacting Valero Energy

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

• Positive Sentiment: Valero was reclassified into several larger Russell indexes, including the Russell 1000 Growth and Russell Top 200, which can increase institutional demand and improve visibility for the stock. Why Valero (VLO) Is Up 5.0% After Russell Reclassification And Refining Margin Tailwinds
• Positive Sentiment: Refining margins remain a key tailwind, with lower crude prices and ongoing supply constraints in U.S. refining helping support profitability for refiners like Valero. Valero Energy (VLO) Could Gain From Cheaper Crude As Refining Margins Hold
• Positive Sentiment: J.P. Morgan reportedly reiterated a buy rating on Valero, adding to the constructive analyst tone around the stock. Valero Energy (VLO) Gets a Buy from J.P. Morgan
• Neutral Sentiment: Valero is drawing heavy attention from investors ahead of its next earnings report, with analysts expecting a sharp earnings rebound; this adds interest, but the actual catalyst is still the upcoming results. What to Expect From Valero Energy’s Q2 2026 Earnings Report
• Neutral Sentiment: Broader energy headlines about Iran, crude prices, and gas prices are keeping Valero in focus, but these are more market context than company-specific news. Veteran energy analyst: “Crude oil is not the problem.” Here’s what’s keeping gas prices high

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Valero Energy from $232.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $261.00 to $279.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Scotiabank lifted their price target on Valero Energy from $178.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Valero Energy from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, April 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Valero Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $247.59.

Valero Energy Trading Down 1.8%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $252.76 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $224.17. The stock has a market cap of $82.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.06, a P/E/G ratio of 0.38 and a beta of 0.55.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The oil and gas company reported $4.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.16 by $1.06. The company had revenue of $32.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.38 billion. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 15.94% and a net margin of 3.37%.The business’s revenue was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.89 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Valero Energy Corporation will post 28.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 21st were given a dividend of $1.20 per share. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 21st. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is 34.88%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Valero Energy

In other news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.17, for a total transaction of $2,011,275.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 19,742 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,294,212.14. This trade represents a 27.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.36% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in Valero Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $1,111,542,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership bought a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at $275,239,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 2,635.7% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 950,527 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $154,736,000 after purchasing an additional 915,782 shares in the last quarter. Amundi increased its position in shares of Valero Energy by 45.3% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 2,584,976 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $638,695,000 after purchasing an additional 806,018 shares during the period. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Valero Energy by 49.3% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,696,811 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $276,224,000 after purchasing an additional 560,116 shares during the period. 78.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Valero Energy

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.