Valero Energy Corporation $VLO Shares Sold by Private Management Group Inc.

Private Management Group Inc. lowered its position in Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) by 2.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 365,264 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 7,265 shares during the period. Valero Energy comprises 1.9% of Private Management Group Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 4th largest position. Private Management Group Inc. owned 0.12% of Valero Energy worth $62,190,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VLO. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Valero Energy by 2.5% in the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,724,707 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,576,035,000 after acquiring an additional 286,942 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 16.7% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,141,511 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,089,897,000 after acquiring an additional 1,164,217 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the second quarter worth about $827,390,000. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,273,517 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $897,869,000 after purchasing an additional 249,195 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 4,143,672 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $705,502,000 after purchasing an additional 209,597 shares in the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

More Valero Energy News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Goldman Sachs raised its price target to $237 and kept a Buy rating, offering a near-term catalyst and institutional endorsement that can support the share price. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Valero increased its quarterly dividend to $1.20 (annualized $4.80), which strengthens the income argument for the stock and can attract yield-focused buyers. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Notable institutional accumulation has been reported (several funds adding positions), signalling conviction from longer-term investors in a refining recovery. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts are revising fair-value assumptions (example fair value moved to ~$202.72), producing mixed calls — some firms lift targets, others trim them depending on refining/crude assumptions. This creates divergent analyst signals rather than a clear consensus catalyst. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Several investor-attention and dividend-themed write-ups (Zacks/Yahoo) are increasing visibility; helpful for flows but not a direct fundamental change. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: SVP Eric A. Fisher disclosed sizable sales this week (8,311 shares at ~ $227.69 and an additional 400 shares at ~$238.60). Large insider disposals can spook short-term sentiment even though he retains a substantial holding. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Policy risk: reports that the White House is considering a temporary Jones Act waiver to ease fuel shipping could, if enacted, lower domestic fuel prices and compress refiners’ margins — a material industry risk for Valero. Read More.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 8,311 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.69, for a total transaction of $1,892,331.59. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 42,242 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,618,080.98. This represents a 16.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Valero Energy Stock Down 2.2%

NYSE:VLO opened at $230.57 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $197.83 and a 200 day simple moving average of $177.61. Valero Energy Corporation has a 52-week low of $99.00 and a 52-week high of $240.27. The company has a market cap of $68.95 billion, a PE ratio of 30.18, a PEG ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.64.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The oil and gas company reported $3.82 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.27 by $0.55. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 12.35% and a net margin of 1.91%.The firm had revenue of $30.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $28.20 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.64 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Valero Energy Corporation will post 7.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 9th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 5th were given a $1.20 dividend. This is a boost from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.13. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 5th. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is presently 62.83%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Valero Energy from $217.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Mizuho reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $192.00 price target (up from $190.00) on shares of Valero Energy in a research note on Friday, December 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $203.00 to $237.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $197.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $193.20.

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.