Short Interest in Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) Declines By 25.9%

Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 10,371,072 shares, a decline of 25.9% from the March 15th total of 13,987,365 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 5,108,175 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.0 days. Currently, 3.5% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Insider Activity

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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Valero Energy by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 18,177,191 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,959,065,000 after buying an additional 163,975 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Valero Energy by 0.5% in the 4th 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 purchasing an additional 63,919 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Valero Energy in the 4th quarter worth $1,111,542,000. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in Valero Energy by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,668,210 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $922,728,000 after purchasing an additional 394,693 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its stake in Valero Energy by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 4,143,672 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $705,502,000 after purchasing an additional 209,597 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $236.00 to $263.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Scotiabank raised shares of Valero Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Valero Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $197.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $215.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $230.00.

Valero Energy Price Performance

Valero Energy stock traded down $0.59 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $234.99. The stock had a trading volume of 2,286,325 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,334,881. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.76, a P/E/G ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $223.18 and its 200 day moving average is $190.57. Valero Energy has a one year low of $106.25 and a one year high of $258.43.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The oil and gas company reported $3.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.27 by $0.55. The company had revenue of $30.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $28.20 billion. Valero Energy had a net margin of 1.91% and a return on equity of 12.35%. Valero Energy’s quarterly revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.64 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Valero Energy will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 issued a $1.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 5th. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. This is an increase from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.13. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is currently 62.83%.

Key Headlines Impacting Valero Energy

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

• Positive Sentiment: Several analysts lifted price targets and maintained bullish ratings, providing upside narrative and institutional validation — Citigroup raised its target to $246 (neutral) and Piper Sandler lifted its target to $263 and kept an Overweight rating. Read More. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Refiners are benefiting from high oil and record crack spreads (product margins), a structural tailwind that helps Valero’s profitability even if crude rises. This sector-level thesis supports upside for VLO if product prices stay strong. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Value/income investor interest: Zacks highlights VLO as a top-ranked value stock, which can attract longer-term buyers focused on yield and valuation metrics. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Broader market strength (risk-on moves) can lift cyclical energy names including refiners, but VLO’s reaction will depend on crude-product spreads rather than equity momentum alone. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Near-term margin pressure after crude rallied: rapid crude price moves can compress crack spreads if product prices lag, and that dynamic was cited as a driver of recent weakness. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Operational/firm-specific risks: Valero confirmed an explosion/fire at its Port Arthur refinery and is winding down Benicia operations — both increase short-term throughput uncertainty and sensitivity to operational headlines. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Recent selling signals: the stock showed a dip while the market gained (reported coverage of the decline) and Quiver flags recent insider and large institutional reductions, which can add near-term selling pressure. Read More. Read More.

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.