Capital Investment Advisors LLC Sells 5,210 Shares of Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Capital Investment Advisors LLC cut its holdings in shares of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) by 11.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 40,670 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 5,210 shares during the quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $6,924,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Valero Energy by 17.4% in the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 160,794 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $27,377,000 after buying an additional 23,859 shares during the period. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the third quarter worth $68,000. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the third quarter worth $239,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Valero Energy by 15.9% in the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,686 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $457,000 after purchasing an additional 368 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its position in shares of Valero Energy by 17.3% in the third quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 18,440 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,140,000 after purchasing an additional 2,721 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Valero Energy News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan raised its price target to $200 and kept an overweight rating, signaling incremental analyst confidence and adding upside narrative for investors. JPMorgan Raises PT on VLO (Benzinga)
• Positive Sentiment: Reports that Venezuelan oil shipments to the U.S. may resume indefinitely and that sanctions could be eased have driven bullish flows into refiners that can process heavy crude — a direct tailwind for Valero’s complex refinery footprint. Valero Stock Climbs On Reports Of Indefinite Venezuelan Oil Flows (Benzinga)
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and research pieces highlight Valero’s operational flexibility — its ability to shift product yields and process varied crude grades — which positions it to capture wider refining margins if Venezuelan heavy crude becomes available. How Valero’s Operational Flexibility Drives Profitability (Zacks)
• Positive Sentiment: Barclays and other brokers maintain buy/positive views (and BMO kept a buy in recent coverage), reinforcing analyst support for shares amid the Venezuela narrative. Barclays Remains a Buy on Valero Energy
• Neutral Sentiment: White‑house outreach: Top oil firms are meeting with President Trump to discuss rebuilding Venezuela’s oil industry — a process that could create eventual opportunities but carries geopolitical and timing uncertainty. Trump to Meet With Chevron and Other Oil Companies on Venezuela (Barron’s)
• Neutral Sentiment: Operational update: Valero will boost fuel imports to Northern California after the Benicia refinery closure, indicating management is maintaining market supply while reshaping asset footprint — important for regional volumes but not an earnings shock. Valero to keep importing gasoline after Benicia refinery closure (Reuters)
• Negative Sentiment: Major-company caution: U.S. oil firms say they need “serious guarantees” from Washington before making large Venezuela investments — this raises execution risk and suggests a gradual, uncertain path to any material benefit for refiners. US oil companies say they need guarantees to invest in Venezuela (Reuters)
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst adjustments and skepticism: Piper Sandler trimmed its price target (though it kept an overweight rating), and some commentary (e.g., Seeking Alpha) warns the Venezuela story may be overhyped — both factors add downside risk if the situation stalls. Valero Energy: Sell The Venezuela Hype (Seeking Alpha)
• Negative Sentiment: Elevated hedging / bearish bets: Unusual put option volume was reported recently, indicating some investors are hedging or speculating on near‑term downside, which can increase volatility. (Options flow reported 1/7/2026.)

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VLO has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Valero Energy from $135.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Friday, September 19th. Morgan Stanley cut Valero Energy from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $160.00 to $175.00 in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. Bank of America reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $195.00 price target (down from $198.00) on shares of Valero Energy in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Valero Energy in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Valero Energy in a report on Tuesday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $183.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Valero Energy Stock Up 4.1%

VLO stock opened at $191.46 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $172.65 and its 200 day moving average is $159.00. The stock has a market cap of $58.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a current ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. Valero Energy Corporation has a 1-year low of $99.00 and a 1-year high of $192.00.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The oil and gas company reported $3.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.15 by $0.51. The business had revenue of $32.17 billion during 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%. Valero Energy’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.14 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Valero Energy Corporation will post 7.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

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

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.