Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund grew its position in shares of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO – Free Report) by 158.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 419,159 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 257,102 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund owned approximately 0.14% of Valero Energy worth $103,566,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Valero Energy during the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in Valero Energy during the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Valero Energy by 134.0% during the 1st quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 117 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the period. Finally, Torren Management LLC purchased a new position in Valero Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
A number of brokerages have issued reports on VLO. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $232.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $222.00 to $289.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Zacks Research cut shares of Valero Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $178.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Raymond James Financial increased their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Valero Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $266.71.
Key Valero Energy News
Here are the key news stories impacting Valero Energy this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Goldman Sachs raised its price target on Valero Energy to $357 from a prior level, reinforcing a bullish view and suggesting additional upside from current levels. The Goldman Sachs Group Increases Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) Price Target to $357.00
- Positive Sentiment: Piper Sandler reaffirmed its overweight rating and set a $329 price target, signaling continued confidence in Valero’s refining business and valuation. Valero Energy had its “overweight” rating reaffirmed by Piper Sandler
- Positive Sentiment: Valero’s board affirmed its regular quarterly dividend of $1.20 per share, which supports the stock’s appeal for income-focused investors and may be contributing to recent momentum. Valero Energy (VLO) Eyes Earnings And Crude Supply Shifts, Is The Stock Fully Priced?
- Positive Sentiment: Zacks highlighted Valero as a strong momentum stock, reflecting technical strength that can attract traders and trend-following investors. Here’s Why Valero Energy (VLO) is a Strong Momentum Stock
- Neutral Sentiment: Analysts expect Valero’s earnings to grow when it reports next week, but Zacks also said the setup does not look especially favorable for an earnings beat, creating a mixed near-term outlook. Valero Energy (VLO) Earnings Expected to Grow: What to Know Ahead of Next Week’s Release
- Neutral Sentiment: Valero was noted to be attracting unusually high investor attention on Zacks, which indicates rising interest but does not by itself change the fundamentals. Valero Energy Corporation (VLO) is Attracting Investor Attention: Here is What You Should Know
- Negative Sentiment: One report said Valero underperformed peers on Thursday, suggesting some short-term profit-taking or relative weakness versus other refiners. Valero Energy Corp. stock underperforms Thursday when compared to competitors
Insiders Place Their Bets
In related news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the senior vice president owned 19,742 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,294,212.14. This trade represents a 27.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.
Valero Energy Trading Down 0.9%
VLO opened at $302.48 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $265.22 and a 200 day moving average price of $234.39. 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 $320.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $89.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.98, a PEG ratio of 0.21 and a beta of 0.55.
Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The oil and gas company reported $4.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.16 by $1.06. The company had revenue of $32.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.38 billion. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 15.94% and a net margin of 3.37%.Valero Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.89 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Valero Energy Corporation will post 35.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Valero Energy Announces Dividend
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 31st. Investors of record on Friday, July 31st will be paid a dividend of $1.20 per share. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 31st. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.88%.
Valero Energy Company 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.
Featured Stories
- Five stocks we like better than Valero Energy
- AMD and Cerbras Create A New Blueprint For Hardware
- Intel Earnings Reveal Whether the Chip Selloff Created a Buy
- CrowdStrike’s Cerebras Deal Puts Its AI Security Strategy to the Test
- Plugging In: How Kinder Morgan Powers Up Profits
Want to see what other hedge funds are holding VLO? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO – Free Report).
Receive News & Ratings for Valero Energy Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Valero Energy and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
