Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) Sets New 1-Year High After Analyst Upgrade

Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday after Raymond James Financial raised their price target on the stock from $215.00 to $290.00. Raymond James Financial currently has a strong-buy rating on the stock. Valero Energy traded as high as $247.87 and last traded at $247.3390, with a volume of 1595617 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $234.54.

VLO has been the topic of a number of other reports. Zacks Research cut shares of Valero Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Bank of America restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $195.00 target price (down from $198.00) on shares of Valero Energy in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Valero Energy in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Citigroup boosted their price target on Valero Energy from $190.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Valero Energy from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $199.53.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Valero Energy news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 400 shares of Valero Energy stock in a transaction dated 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 SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Valero Energy News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Raymond James raised its price target sharply to $290 and kept a Strong Buy rating, signaling substantial upside from Street analysts and likely supporting buyer interest. Why Raymond James Is Calling for a $290 Price Tag on Valero (VLO)
• Positive Sentiment: Valero has begun restarting its 380,000 bpd Port Arthur refinery two days after the blast, reducing the expected duration of lost throughput and restoring refining cash flow sooner than a prolonged outage would. Valero begins restart of Port Arthur, Texas refinery, sources say
• Positive Sentiment: Geopolitical risk in the Middle East has pushed oil above $100/barrel and widened crack spreads, a tailwind for refiners like Valero that can see margin expansion even as crude rises. Energy-sector commentary and sector rallies have lifted refining stocks. Wall Street follows global markets lower with missiles fired at Israel and confusion on peace talks
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks notes Valero is a trending ticker among retail readers — increased attention can boost intraday volume and momentum but doesn’t change fundamentals by itself. Valero Energy Corporation (VLO) Is a Trending Stock: Facts to Know Before Betting on It
• Neutral Sentiment: Research houses are raising forward estimates (Erste Group raised FY2027 EPS assumptions), which supports higher longer‑term earnings expectations but differs from near-term consensus — watch guidance revisions.
• Negative Sentiment: A worker sued Valero over injuries from the Port Arthur explosion, seeking more than $1M; litigation and potential fines or remediation costs are downside risks. Worker sues Valero over Texas refinery explosion
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory filings indicate a fluid release ignited the blast; safety, compliance and potential repair costs remain headline risks until inspections and root-cause work are complete. Fluid release ignited blast, fire at Valero refinery, filing shows

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Valero Energy

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of VLO. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $1,111,542,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership purchased a new position in Valero Energy during the 3rd quarter worth $275,239,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in 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 valued at $154,736,000 after buying an additional 915,782 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Valero Energy by 49.3% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,696,811 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $276,224,000 after buying an additional 560,116 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in Valero Energy by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,668,210 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $922,728,000 after buying an additional 394,693 shares during the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $73.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.34, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.64 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $206.56 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $182.55.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The oil and gas company reported $3.82 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.27 by $0.55. The firm had revenue of $30.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.64 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Valero Energy Corporation will post 7.92 EPS for the current year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 5th were given a $1.20 dividend. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 5th. This is a positive change from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.13. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is currently 62.83%.

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.