Valero Energy Corporation $VLO Shares Bought by Petra Financial Advisors Inc.

Posted by Francis Steltz on Jul 22nd, 2026

Petra Financial Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO – Free Report) by 83.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,509 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,954 shares during the quarter. Valero Energy makes up about 1.0% of Petra Financial Advisors Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest position. Petra Financial Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $1,608,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Whipplewood Advisors LLC increased its stake in Valero Energy by 3,400.0% in the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 105 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in Valero Energy in the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Valero Energy by 134.0% in the 1st quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 117 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Global Assets Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Valero Energy in the 1st quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Valero Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Valero Energy

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

Positive Sentiment: TD Cowen raised its price target on Valero Energy to $338 from $292, suggesting additional upside even though the firm kept a hold rating. Benzinga
Positive Sentiment: Zacks highlighted Valero as a top long-term growth stock, reinforcing the view that the refiner still has strong fundamentals and investor appeal. Article
Positive Sentiment: Valero has been trading near record levels after a recent breakout to a new 52-week high, indicating strong technical momentum. Article
Neutral Sentiment: Erste Group Bank reportedly raised its FY2026 EPS estimate for Valero, but no additional details were provided. Article
Neutral Sentiment: Broader energy-sector headlines remain mixed, with strong refinery economics supporting some names while other refining-related stories point to uneven earnings trends elsewhere in the group. Article

Valero Energy Stock Performance

Valero Energy stock opened at $314.77 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $261.64 and its 200-day moving average is $231.89. The company has a market cap of $93.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.38 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.15. Valero Energy Corporation has a 12 month low of $130.78 and a 12 month high of $318.22.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO – Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The oil and gas company reported $4.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.16 by $1.06. The business had revenue of $32.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.38 billion. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 15.94% and a net margin of 3.37%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.89 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Valero Energy Corporation will post 32.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 31st will be paid a dividend of $1.20 per share. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 31st. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is currently 34.88%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 29th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $5,294,212.14. This represents a 27.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.36% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on VLO. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Valero Energy from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, April 4th. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $280.00 target price on shares of Valero Energy in a report on Thursday, June 11th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $236.00 to $263.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $232.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, June 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $255.76.

View Our Latest Report on Valero Energy

About Valero Energy

(Free Report)

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.