Valero Energy Corporation $VLO Stake Boosted by Entropy Technologies LP

Entropy Technologies LP lifted its stake in shares of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) by 434.9% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 57,368 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 46,644 shares during the period. Entropy Technologies LP’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $14,174,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund lifted its stake in Valero Energy by 158.6% in the first quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 419,159 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $103,566,000 after buying an additional 257,102 shares during the last quarter. Bollard Group LLC grew its position in shares of Valero Energy by 17.3% during the first quarter. Bollard Group LLC now owns 73,212 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $18,089,000 after acquiring an additional 10,816 shares during the last quarter. Compound Planning Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 12,238 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $3,024,000 after acquiring an additional 191 shares during the period. Modern Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 7.5% in the 1st quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,046 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $494,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares during the period. Finally, Keebeck Wealth Management lifted its position in Valero Energy by 23.2% in the 1st quarter. Keebeck Wealth Management now owns 2,060 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $509,000 after purchasing an additional 388 shares during the last quarter. 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 the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.17, for a total value of $2,011,275.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 19,742 shares in the company, valued at $5,294,212.14. This represents a 27.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.36% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

Shares of VLO opened at $302.48 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $89.81 billion, a PE ratio of 21.98, a P/E/G ratio of 0.21 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $265.22 and a 200 day moving average price of $234.39. Valero Energy Corporation has a 52-week low of $130.78 and a 52-week high of $320.24.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.16 by $1.06. The company had revenue of $32.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.38 billion. Valero Energy had a net margin of 3.37% and a return on equity of 15.94%. Valero Energy’s revenue was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.89 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Valero Energy Corporation will post 35.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

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

Valero Energy News Roundup

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on VLO. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Valero Energy from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Thursday. Scotiabank lifted their price target on Valero Energy from $178.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Barclays boosted their price objective on Valero Energy from $261.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, TD Cowen raised their target price on Valero Energy from $292.00 to $338.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $266.71.

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.