Valero Energy Corporation $VLO Shares Sold by Federated Hermes Inc.

Federated Hermes Inc. trimmed its holdings in Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) by 50.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 80,366 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 81,591 shares during the quarter. Federated Hermes Inc.’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $13,683,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in VLO. Highline Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in Valero Energy by 70.2% during the third quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 160 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates bought a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the third quarter valued at $34,000. Cypress Capital Management LLC WY acquired a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at $34,000. GFG Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 1,277.8% during the 2nd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 248 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 230 shares in the last quarter. 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: Q4 earnings beat — Valero posted adjusted EPS of $3.82 vs. consensus ~$3.27 and reported higher refining margins that lifted profitability. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Record throughput and operational strength highlighted on the earnings call — management cited record throughput that supports margin recovery and cash generation. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrade — Piper Sandler raised its price target to $220 and set an “overweight” rating, signaling ~21% upside versus recent levels and reinforcing bullish analyst sentiment. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Other analyst moves mixed — Morgan Stanley increased its target to $180 (below some peers’ targets and close to current levels), showing varied analyst views on near-term upside. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Supply actions — Valero said it will buy Venezuelan crude from three authorized sellers; operationally notable but carries geopolitical/supply considerations rather than immediate earnings surprises. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Offsetting margin and revenue notes — analysts and reports flagged weaker renewable-diesel margins and a small (-1.2%) y/y revenue decline; Valero’s net margin remained modest, which could limit multiple expansion despite the EPS beat. Read More.

Insider Transactions at Valero Energy

In other Valero Energy news, CFO Jason W. Fraser sold 9,933 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief financial officer owned 134,196 shares in the company, 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 through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Bank of America reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $195.00 target price (down from $198.00) on shares of Valero Energy in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Valero Energy from $217.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Valero Energy in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Valero Energy in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $183.53.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

VLO stock opened at $181.70 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $175.25 and a 200 day simple moving average of $163.72. Valero Energy Corporation has a 52 week low of $99.00 and a 52 week high of $194.50. The stock has a market cap of $55.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.60.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The oil and gas company reported $3.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.27 by $0.55. The company had revenue of $30.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $28.20 billion. Valero Energy had a net margin of 1.91% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The company’s revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.64 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Valero Energy Corporation will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 5th will be issued a dividend of $1.20 per share. This is a positive change from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.13. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 5th. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 94.36%.

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.