Stephens Inc. AR Decreases Position in Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Stephens Inc. AR decreased its stake in Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) by 4.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 47,521 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 2,335 shares during the period. Stephens Inc. AR’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $7,736,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 5.0% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,273,517 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $897,869,000 after buying an additional 249,195 shares during the period. Barclays PLC boosted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 5.3% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 4,143,672 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $705,502,000 after buying an additional 209,597 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 13.3% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,929,599 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $328,534,000 after buying an additional 226,167 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 2.3% in the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,904,181 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $324,206,000 after buying an additional 43,237 shares during the period. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership purchased a new stake in shares of Valero Energy in the third quarter worth about $275,239,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Valero Energy Trading Up 2.3%

Shares of NYSE VLO opened at $250.34 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $238.98 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $201.68. Valero Energy Corporation has a 52-week low of $125.10 and a 52-week high of $258.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $74.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.19, a PEG 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.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The oil and gas company reported $4.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.16 by $1.06. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 15.94% and a net margin of 3.37%.The firm had revenue of $32.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.38 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.89 earnings per share. Valero Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Valero Energy Corporation will post 28.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

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

More 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

VLO has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Zacks Research raised Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Wall Street Zen raised Valero Energy from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, April 4th. Wolfe Research reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a $203.00 price target on shares of Valero Energy in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Valero Energy from $236.00 to $263.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. 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 report on Friday, April 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $237.94.

Insider Buying and Selling at Valero Energy

In other news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 400 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.60, for a total transaction of $95,440.00. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

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.