12,424 Shares in Valero Energy Corporation $VLO Bought by Havemeyer Place LP

Havemeyer Place LP acquired a new position in shares of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 12,424 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,023,000.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in Valero Energy by 5.3% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 4,143,672 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $705,502,000 after buying an additional 209,597 shares during the last quarter. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. lifted its stake in Valero Energy by 33.5% in the fourth quarter. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. now owns 42,376 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $6,898,000 after buying an additional 10,634 shares during the last quarter. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Valero Energy by 13.7% in the third quarter. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC now owns 115,183 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $19,612,000 after buying an additional 13,923 shares during the last quarter. Friedenthal Financial bought a new stake in Valero Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $954,000. Finally, CWA Asset Management Group LLC lifted its stake in Valero Energy by 359.0% in the fourth quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 14,243 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,319,000 after buying an additional 11,140 shares during the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting Valero Energy

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

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks highlighted Valero as one of the best low-beta stocks to buy right away, pointing to recent gains, solid trading volume, and the appeal of defensive energy exposure amid market volatility. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Another Zacks note said cleaner transportation fuels are powering Valero’s growth, citing expansion in renewable diesel, sustainable aviation fuel, and ethanol as longer-term cash flow drivers. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Valero was also featured as a strong value and growth name, with Zacks assigning it favorable rankings that may reinforce investor confidence in the stock’s earnings and valuation profile. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Valero’s refining strength was emphasized again in a Zacks article arguing that high oil prices should not fully derail margins because of tight global refining capacity and low fuel inventories. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple headlines noted that Valero recently hit a 52-week high and has outperformed the Nasdaq over the past year, suggesting strong momentum and supportive fundamentals. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: One article discussed whether VLO’s run can continue after reaching a 52-week high, but it mainly framed the question around existing fundamentals rather than delivering a clear new catalyst. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: A Yahoo Finance piece flagged possible bearish signals from insider stock sales over the past year, which could temper enthusiasm if investors focus on governance or insider sentiment. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Seeking Alpha argued Valero may be a great business but at the wrong price, implying valuation could be a headwind after the stock’s strong run. Article Title

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on VLO. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Valero Energy from $220.00 to $292.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Wolfe Research reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $203.00 target price on shares of Valero Energy in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Valero Energy from $236.00 to $263.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Barclays increased their price objective on Valero Energy from $184.00 to $261.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Valero Energy from $182.00 to $222.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Valero Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $243.65.

Insider Activity at Valero Energy

In other news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 8,311 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.69, for a total transaction of $1,892,331.59. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 42,242 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,618,080.98. This trade represents a 16.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Valero Energy Price Performance

Shares of VLO opened at $256.03 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $76.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.38 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.58. Valero Energy Corporation has a one year low of $127.83 and a one year high of $265.61. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $244.66 and its 200-day moving average is $209.79.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The oil and gas company reported $4.22 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%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.89 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Valero Energy Corporation will post 26.51 EPS for the current year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be issued a dividend of $1.20 per share. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.88%.

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.