First Trust Advisors LP Raises Stake in Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) by 138.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 216,034 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 125,428 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP owned about 0.07% of Valero Energy worth $53,378,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Woodline Partners LP increased its position in shares of Valero Energy by 40.7% during the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 26,747 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $3,532,000 after acquiring an additional 7,735 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in Valero Energy by 13.0% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,929 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $259,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares in the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL bought a new position in Valero Energy in the second quarter worth approximately $528,000. Sei Investments Co. increased its holdings in Valero Energy by 11.3% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 269,043 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $36,165,000 after purchasing an additional 27,291 shares during the period. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina increased its holdings in Valero Energy by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 145,810 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $19,600,000 after purchasing an additional 1,338 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Valero Energy news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 7,500 shares of Valero Energy 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 transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 19,742 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,294,212.14. The trade was a 27.53% 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 the SEC website. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Trending Headlines about Valero Energy

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

Valero Energy Price Performance

VLO opened at $302.48 on Monday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $265.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $234.77. Valero Energy Corporation has a 1 year low of $130.78 and a 1 year high of $320.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $89.81 billion, a PE ratio of 21.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.20 and a beta of 0.55.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The oil and gas company reported $4.22 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.16 by $1.06. The business had revenue of $32.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.38 billion. Valero Energy had a net margin of 3.37% and a return on equity of 15.94%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.89 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Valero Energy Corporation will post 36.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 31st will be paid a $1.20 dividend. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 31st. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.88%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on VLO. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Valero Energy from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 6th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Valero Energy from $232.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, June 12th. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $280.00 price objective on shares of Valero Energy in a report on Thursday, June 11th. Raymond James Financial upped their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $220.00 to $292.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $266.71.

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.