Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund Has $6.04 Million Holdings in Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund raised its stake in Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) by 31.1% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 35,469 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,408 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $6,039,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Great Lakes Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Valero Energy during the first quarter worth about $264,000. Woodline Partners LP raised its holdings in Valero Energy by 40.7% in the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 26,747 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,532,000 after acquiring an additional 7,735 shares in the last quarter. Integrity Alliance LLC. bought a new stake in shares of Valero Energy in the 1st quarter worth approximately $554,000. Focus Partners Wealth grew its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 37.0% during the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 46,854 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $6,188,000 after purchasing an additional 12,655 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strs Ohio bought a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the first quarter valued at approximately $15,994,000. Institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Valero Energy

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

• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo and Barclays reaffirmed buy ratings on VLO, reinforcing institutional support that can underpin the stock. Wells Fargo Keeps Their Buy Rating on Valero Energy (VLO)
• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan raised its price target to $200 and keeps an overweight view, signaling analysts see upside versus recent levels. JPMorgan raises VLO target
• Positive Sentiment: Media and TV commentary (Jim Cramer) highlight refiners like Valero as potential beneficiaries if U.S. policy opens access to Venezuelan crude — a positive sentiment tailwind for refining margins and investor interest. Jim Cramer Says Refiners Like Valero as Potential Winners From Venezuelan Oil
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks notes Valero’s strong earnings surprise history and factors (operational flexibility, margin capture) that increase the odds of an earnings beat — a catalyst that could lift the stock if results beat again. Will Valero Energy (VLO) Beat Estimates Again?
• Neutral Sentiment: Unusually high options volume indicates heavy positioning/speculation around VLO — can amplify moves in either direction but doesn’t signal a fundamental change alone. Valero Energy Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:VLO)
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage of a White House meeting with oil majors (Barron’s) and comments that majors may move slowly into Venezuela (Reuters) create a mixed timeline: policy momentum exists, but execution and investment timelines remain uncertain. Trump to Meet With Chevron and Other Oil Companies on Venezuela Bessent says largest oil companies are likely to move slower in Venezuela
• Negative Sentiment: Critical analysis (Seeking Alpha) calls the “Venezuela hype” into question, arguing the upside may be overstated — this increased skepticism can pressure the stock if investors reassess realistic benefits. Valero Energy: Sell The Venezuela Hype
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that U.S. oil companies want firm guarantees before investing in Venezuela (FT/Reuters) highlight political, legal and investment risk — a material constraint on how quickly Valero could benefit. US oil companies say they need guarantees to invest in Venezuela
• Negative Sentiment: Piper Sandler trimmed its price target (from $223 to $217) — a modest downgrade to upside expectations that can add downward pressure despite an overweight rating. Piper Sandler lowers PT

Analyst Ratings Changes

VLO has been the subject of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised 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. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Valero Energy in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $181.00 to $194.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 10th. Erste Group Bank started coverage on shares of Valero Energy in a research report on Monday, November 10th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, Raymond James Financial restated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $195.00 price target (up previously from $181.00) on shares of Valero Energy in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Valero Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $183.00.

Valero Energy Trading Down 3.1%

Shares of Valero Energy stock opened at $185.30 on Friday. Valero Energy Corporation has a 12-month low of $99.00 and a 12-month high of $192.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $56.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $172.96 and a 200 day simple moving average of $159.50. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The oil and gas company reported $3.66 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.15 by $0.51. The firm had revenue of $32.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $28.80 billion. Valero Energy had a net margin of 1.21% and a return on equity of 8.69%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.14 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Valero Energy Corporation will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 18th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 20th were given a dividend of $1.13 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 20th. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 94.36%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Valero Energy news, CFO Jason W. Fraser sold 9,933 shares of Valero Energy stock in a transaction on Friday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.02, for a total value of $1,728,540.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 134,196 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,352,787.92. The trade was a 6.89% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.04% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Valero Energy 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.