Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH Increases Stock Position in Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH grew its position in shares of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) by 3.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 184,728 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 6,071 shares during the quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $30,072,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Kathmere Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Valero Energy by 7.5% during the 4th quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 4,743 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $772,000 after buying an additional 330 shares in the last quarter. Norden Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 4,086 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $665,000 after acquiring an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. Argentarii LLC boosted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Argentarii LLC now owns 1,910 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $311,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 7.0% during the 4th quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,902 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,775,000 after acquiring an additional 709 shares during the last quarter. Finally, World Equity Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $432,000. 78.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Valero Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Argus upgraded shares of Valero Energy to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $203.00 to $237.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, Bank of America reaffirmed 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $199.53.

Key Valero Energy News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Crack spreads and an upgrade boosted profit expectations for refiners — analysts and investors are lifting VLO on improving refining margins, a key driver of near‑term cash flow. Valero Energy Shares Follow Crack Spreads Higher (Rating Upgrade)
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst bullishness increased: Raymond James raised its price target to $290 and Scotiabank reaffirmed a buy — both add upside narrative and institutional support. Raymond James Financial Raises Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) Price Target to $290.00 Scotiabank Reaffirms Their Buy Rating on Valero Energy (VLO)
• Positive Sentiment: Erste Group raised FY2026 and FY2027 EPS forecasts materially, signaling expectations for much higher earnings than consensus — this lifts forward valuation metrics for VLO. (Research note cited by market coverage.)
• Positive Sentiment: Operational recovery: Valero has begun restarting its 380k bpd Port Arthur refinery after the recent explosion, which reduces near‑term production disruption risk and supports revenue recovery. Valero begins restart of Port Arthur, Texas refinery, sources say
• Positive Sentiment: Sector tailwinds: Energy stocks and oil prices have rallied on Middle East tensions, lifting refiners’ top lines and supporting VLO’s momentum. Wall Street follows global markets lower with missiles fired at Israel and confusion on peace talks
• Neutral Sentiment: Macro headwinds: rising global bond yields and growing odds of further Fed tightening are increasing equity volatility and could cap multiple expansion for cyclical names like VLO. US Stock Market Today S&P 500 Futures Steady As Rate Hike Worries Build
• Negative Sentiment: Legal & safety overhang: a worker sued Valero over injuries from the Port Arthur explosion seeking damages; while the suit appears limited in dollar size vs. market cap, it raises operational/safety scrutiny and potential legal costs. Valero has responded publicly. Worker sues Valero over Texas refinery explosion

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 8,311 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.69, for a total value of $1,892,331.59. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 42,242 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,618,080.98. This represents a 16.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:VLO opened at $254.58 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $76.13 billion, a PE ratio of 33.32, a PEG ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 0.70. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $209.25 and its 200 day moving average is $183.67. Valero Energy Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $99.00 and a fifty-two week high of $255.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.64.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The oil and gas company reported $3.82 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.27 by $0.55. Valero Energy had a net margin of 1.91% and a return on equity of 12.35%. The company had revenue of $30.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $28.20 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.64 earnings per share. Valero Energy’s quarterly revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Valero Energy Corporation will post 7.92 earnings per share 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 paid a dividend of $1.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 5th. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. This is a boost from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.13. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 62.83%.

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.