FORA Capital LLC Purchases Shares of 19,951 Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

FORA Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 19,951 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,397,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Woodline Partners LP grew its position in Valero Energy by 40.7% in the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 26,747 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $3,532,000 after buying an additional 7,735 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 13.0% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,929 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $259,000 after acquiring an additional 222 shares during the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the 2nd quarter worth $4,725,000. Allworth Financial LP boosted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 96.4% during the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 15,042 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,022,000 after acquiring an additional 7,384 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vise Technologies Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the 2nd quarter worth $675,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VLO has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 7th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Valero Energy from $217.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Valero Energy from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $190.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $169.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $193.20.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

Shares of Valero Energy stock opened at $230.57 on Friday. Valero Energy Corporation has a 12 month low of $99.00 and a 12 month high of $240.27. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The stock has a market cap of $68.95 billion, a PE ratio of 30.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.70. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $197.83 and a 200-day simple moving average of $177.61.

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

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

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

Valero Energy News Roundup

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 at Valero Energy

In other news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 8,311 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.69, for a total value of $1,892,331.59. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 42,242 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,618,080.98. This represents a 16.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.04% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.