Valero Energy Corporation $VLO Shares Acquired by Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI raised its stake in Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) by 31.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,958 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 1,675 shares during the quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $1,812,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Valero Energy by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 18,177,191 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,959,065,000 after buying an additional 163,975 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Valero Energy by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,950,982 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,945,500,000 after acquiring an additional 63,919 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Valero Energy during the fourth quarter worth $1,111,542,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position 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 purchasing an additional 394,693 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in Valero Energy by 11.4% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 5,033,310 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,243,630,000 after purchasing an additional 516,975 shares during the period. 78.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Valero Energy News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Higher gasoline prices, above $4 per gallon, may support attractive refining margins for efficient refiners such as Valero. The favorable industry backdrop could improve cash generation and near-term earnings prospects. 4 Refining Stocks to Buy as Gas Prices Top $4 a Gallon
• Positive Sentiment: Valero was added to multiple Zacks Rank #1, or “Strong Buy,” lists covering growth, value and overall stock ideas. These rankings reflect favorable quantitative factors and may increase buying interest. New Strong Buy Stocks for August 17th
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts are moving Valero’s earnings estimates higher, suggesting improving expectations for profitability and potentially continued upward momentum. The company’s latest quarterly results already showed a substantial earnings and revenue beat, strengthening the fundamental case. Earnings Estimates Moving Higher for Valero Energy
• Neutral Sentiment: Unusually high put-option activity was reported, with investors purchasing 23,642 puts—179% above average daily volume. This may indicate increased hedging or bearish speculation, although options activity alone does not establish a clear direction for the stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group increased their price target on Valero Energy from $280.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Raymond James Financial boosted their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $329.00 price objective on shares of Valero Energy in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Citigroup boosted their target price on Valero Energy from $259.00 to $302.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Valero Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $288.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Valero Energy news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 7,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.17, for a total value 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. The trade was a 27.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Valero Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE VLO opened at $347.25 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 1.64 and a quick ratio of 1.23. The company has a market cap of $99.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.23 and a beta of 0.55. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $285.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $249.58. Valero Energy Corporation has a 1-year low of $135.02 and a 1-year high of $350.63.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The oil and gas company reported $12.54 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $10.11 by $2.43. Valero Energy had a net margin of 5.17% and a return on equity of 26.74%. The company had revenue of $44.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $39.47 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.28 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 48.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Valero Energy Corporation will post 40.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 31st will be given a dividend of $1.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 31st. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is 19.92%.

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.