Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Raises Holdings in Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) by 21.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 137,021 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 23,883 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $22,306,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Valero Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 70.2% during the 3rd quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 160 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates purchased a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Cypress Capital Management LLC WY bought a new position in shares of Valero Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Triumph Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the third quarter valued at $35,000. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Valero Energy Stock Up 5.6%

Shares of VLO opened at $247.78 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The business has a fifty day moving average of $207.83 and a 200 day moving average of $183.00. The company has a market cap of $74.09 billion, a PE ratio of 32.43, a P/E/G ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 0.70. Valero Energy Corporation has a 52-week low of $99.00 and a 52-week high of $249.11.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The oil and gas company reported $3.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.27 by $0.55. Valero Energy had a net margin of 1.91% and a return on equity of 12.35%. The business had revenue of $30.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $28.20 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.64 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Valero Energy Corporation will post 7.92 EPS for the current year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 5th were issued a dividend of $1.20 per share. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 5th. This is a positive change from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.13. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is currently 62.83%.

Key Headlines Impacting Valero Energy

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

• Positive Sentiment: Raymond James raised its price target on VLO to $290 and kept a “Strong Buy” rating, a high-profile upgrade that boosts investor expectations for upside. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Scotiabank reaffirmed a Buy rating on Valero, providing additional sell-side support and validation for the recent bullish analyst trend. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Macro/sector tailwinds: energy stocks are rallying as oil prices climbed above $100/bbl amid heightened Middle East tensions, benefiting refiners like Valero through wider crack spreads and stronger refining margins. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Research update: Erste Group raised its FY2027 EPS estimate for Valero, signaling expectations for stronger future earnings versus prior forecasts. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks/Yahoo pieces note VLO is a “trending” stock and summarize factors investors should watch (analyst views, macro, refinery outages), useful background but not new catalytic news. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Valero has begun preparations to restart its 380,000 bpd Port Arthur refinery after the shutdown, which limits prolonged supply disruption risk if the restart proceeds smoothly. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Operational incident: filings show a fluid release ignited the explosion and fire at the Port Arthur refinery, highlighting safety and operational risk that could mean repair costs, lost throughput and temporary margin pressure. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Litigation: a worker injured in the Port Arthur blast filed a lawsuit seeking >$1M, creating potential legal/PR headwinds (currently limited in scale but worth monitoring). Article Title

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Valero Energy news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.60, for a total value of $95,440.00. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.04% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on VLO. Argus upgraded shares of Valero Energy to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 7th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $217.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Raymond James Financial upped their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $215.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $203.00 to $237.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $199.53.

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.