Valero Energy Corporation $VLO Shares Sold by Stephens Inc. AR

Stephens Inc. AR reduced its holdings in Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) by 4.7% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 47,521 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 2,335 shares during the quarter. Stephens Inc. AR’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $7,736,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VLO. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership acquired a new stake in Valero Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $275,239,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in Valero Energy by 2,635.7% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 950,527 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $154,736,000 after acquiring an additional 915,782 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in Valero Energy by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,273,517 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $897,869,000 after acquiring an additional 249,195 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in Valero Energy by 13.3% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,929,599 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $328,534,000 after acquiring an additional 226,167 shares during the period. Finally, Voloridge Investment Management LLC increased its position in Valero Energy by 96.5% in the 3rd quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 444,919 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $75,752,000 after acquiring an additional 218,448 shares during the period. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

VLO opened at $250.34 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $74.33 billion, a PE ratio of 18.19, a P/E/G ratio of 0.35 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $238.98 and a 200-day simple moving average of $201.68. Valero Energy Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $125.10 and a fifty-two week high of $258.43.

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 for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.16 by $1.06. The business had revenue of $32.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.38 billion. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 15.94% and a net margin of 3.37%.The company’s revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.89 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Valero Energy Corporation will post 28.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be paid a dividend of $1.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.88%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 400 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.60, for a total value of $95,440.00. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.36% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Key Valero Energy News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Scotiabank raised its earnings estimates for Valero Energy, lifting FY2026 EPS to $27.10 from $25.85 and FY2027 EPS to $26.15 from $24.80, while keeping a Sector Outperform rating and a $226 target price.
• Positive Sentiment: Several recent writeups highlighted Valero’s refining flexibility, higher export volumes, and strong margins, saying tight global fuel supply continues to support profitability and has helped drive the stock’s strong year-long outperformance. Yahoo Finance article
• Positive Sentiment: Market commentary also pointed to a historic SPR-related pricing dislocation creating an arbitrage opportunity for refiners like Valero, which could support near-term refining economics. MarketBeat article
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst-target articles suggest Wall Street remains moderately optimistic, but they do not add a new catalyst beyond the already favorable refining backdrop. Barchart article

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on VLO shares. Argus upgraded Valero Energy to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Valero Energy from $220.00 to $292.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Scotiabank increased 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. Zacks Research raised Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Valero Energy from $182.00 to $222.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Valero Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $237.94.

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.