Bollard Group LLC Purchases 3,018 Shares of Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Bollard Group LLC raised its position in Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) by 4.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 65,222 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,018 shares during the period. Bollard Group LLC’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $11,105,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. lifted its position in Valero Energy by 23.4% in the 3rd quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. now owns 5,256 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $895,000 after acquiring an additional 998 shares in the last quarter. Bridgefront Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Valero Energy during the third quarter valued at about $456,000. California Public Employees Retirement System increased its stake in Valero Energy by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 575,237 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $97,940,000 after buying an additional 8,289 shares during the last quarter. Boothbay Fund Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 41.9% in the third quarter. Boothbay Fund Management LLC now owns 2,751 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $468,000 after acquiring an additional 812 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Creative Planning raised its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 107,547 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $18,311,000 after purchasing an additional 3,816 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Valero Energy from $203.00 to $237.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Valero Energy from $197.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Wall Street Zen raised Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 7th. Argus upgraded shares of Valero Energy to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Mizuho reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $192.00 price objective (up from $190.00) on shares of Valero Energy in a research note on Friday, December 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Valero Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $193.20.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Valero Energy news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.60, for a total transaction of $95,440.00. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.04% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Key Headlines Impacting Valero Energy

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.

Valero Energy Stock Down 2.2%

Shares of VLO opened at $230.57 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $68.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.70. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $197.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $177.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.64 and a quick ratio of 1.11. Valero Energy Corporation has a 1 year low of $99.00 and a 1 year high of $240.27.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The oil and gas company reported $3.82 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.27 by $0.55. The firm had revenue of $30.37 billion for 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%. The business’s revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.64 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Valero Energy Corporation will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

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

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.