Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE Sells 8,455 Shares of Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE cut its position in Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) by 51.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,880 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 8,455 shares during the period. Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $1,947,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of VLO. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 18,177,191 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,959,065,000 after acquiring an additional 163,975 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Valero Energy by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,950,982 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,945,500,000 after acquiring an additional 63,919 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Valero Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,111,542,000. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in Valero Energy by 7.5% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,668,210 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $922,728,000 after purchasing an additional 394,693 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its holdings in Valero Energy by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 4,143,672 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $705,502,000 after purchasing an additional 209,597 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Valero Energy

In other news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 19,742 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,294,212.14. This trade represents a 27.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on VLO. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $280.00 price objective on shares of Valero Energy in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. Scotiabank raised their target price on Valero Energy from $178.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a $203.00 price target on shares of Valero Energy in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Valero Energy from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Valero Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, June 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $247.59.

Valero Energy Stock Up 3.5%

NYSE VLO opened at $269.59 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $248.37 and a 200-day moving average of $219.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $80.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.37 and a beta of 0.55. Valero Energy Corporation has a 52 week low of $130.78 and a 52 week high of $272.17. 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 (NYSE:VLO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The oil and gas company reported $4.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.16 by $1.06. The business 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.89 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Valero Energy Corporation will post 27.55 EPS for the current year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 21st were issued a dividend of $1.20 per share. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 21st. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is currently 34.88%.

Key Stories Impacting Valero Energy

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

• Positive Sentiment: Barclays raised its price target on Valero Energy to $279 and kept an overweight rating, signaling additional upside for the stock.
• Positive Sentiment: Erste Group Bank increased its FY2026 and FY2027 EPS estimates for Valero, reflecting stronger profit expectations.
• Positive Sentiment: A recent bullish analysis on Valero suggested the refining upcycle could outlast near-term geopolitical concerns, which may support refining margins and earnings.

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.