Nordea Investment Management AB Raises Holdings in Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) by 51.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 92,328 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 31,296 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $14,938,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Woodline Partners LP lifted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 40.7% during the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 26,747 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $3,532,000 after purchasing an additional 7,735 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in Valero Energy by 13.0% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,929 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $259,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares during the last quarter. MAI Capital Management raised its holdings in Valero Energy by 3.3% in the second quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 8,003 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,076,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in Valero Energy by 162.5% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 523,692 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $70,395,000 after purchasing an additional 324,174 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Waterloo Capital L.P. lifted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 20.2% during the second quarter. Waterloo Capital L.P. now owns 4,561 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $613,000 after buying an additional 767 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Valero Energy News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Refiner-friendly macro: analysts and MarketBeat-style coverage highlight that refiners like Valero benefit from wider crack spreads when crude is volatile; Valero’s scale, dividend and recent strong throughput are cited as reasons investors favor VLO. Energy Stocks Surge on Oil Spike: Buy, Hold, or Take Profits?
• Positive Sentiment: Retail/momentum interest: Reddit and retail-focused outlets point to record refining throughput, a higher dividend and the company’s exit from California as catalysts behind a strong YTD rally and elevated investor attention. This retail/momentum demand can support the share price despite headline risk. Valero’s 98% Capacity Run Rate and California Exit Have Reddit Turning Bullish
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst themes: value/momentum research (Zacks, others) flags VLO as a strong value/momentum candidate given earnings beat history, improving margins and attractive style scores — supporting upgrades/coverage that can buoy the stock. Here’s Why Valero Energy (VLO) is a Strong Value Stock
• Neutral Sentiment: Energy-sector tailwind: broader energy indices are trading higher today on oil-market risk/volatility, giving refiners like Valero a sector lift that is independent of firm-specific news. Sector Update: Energy Stocks Higher Late Afternoon
• Neutral Sentiment: Investigation update: Jefferson County sheriff’s office says there is no evidence the Port Arthur blast was deliberate — this reduces a terrorism/attack premium but doesn’t remove operational or regulatory risk. No evidence Valero Texas refinery blast caused by intentional act, sheriff’s office
• Negative Sentiment: Port Arthur shutdown and safety incident: Valero temporarily shut its 380,000 bpd Port Arthur refinery after an explosion and fire in a diesel hydrotreater unit. The outage creates near-term lost throughput, repair/insurance costs, possible regulatory scrutiny and margin volatility — a clear negative that can pressure the stock until restart timing and damage scope are known. Valero shuts Texas refinery after explosion, sources say

Insider Activity at Valero Energy

In other news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.60, for a total transaction of $95,440.00. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

VLO opened at $241.76 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $72.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $205.60 and its 200-day moving average price is $182.18. Valero Energy Corporation has a 52-week low of $99.00 and a 52-week high of $247.73.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The oil and gas company reported $3.82 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.27 by $0.55. The company had revenue of $30.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $28.20 billion. Valero Energy had a net margin of 1.91% and a return on equity of 12.35%. Valero Energy’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.64 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Valero Energy Corporation will post 7.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 9th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 5th were paid a dividend of $1.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 5th. This is an increase from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.13. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is presently 62.83%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on VLO shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $203.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Bank of America reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $195.00 target price (down from $198.00) on shares of Valero Energy in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 7th. Finally, Argus raised Valero Energy to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $193.20.

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.