Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) Sets New 12-Month High After Analyst Upgrade

Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday after Raymond James Financial raised their price target on the stock from $215.00 to $290.00. Raymond James Financial currently has a strong-buy rating on the stock. Valero Energy traded as high as $247.87 and last traded at $247.3390, with a volume of 1595617 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $234.54.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on VLO. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Valero Energy from $217.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Mizuho reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $192.00 target price (up from $190.00) on shares of Valero Energy in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Zacks Research cut Valero Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Valero Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $199.53.

Insider Activity at Valero Energy

In other news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 400 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 12th. The stock was 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 can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

More 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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Valero Energy

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Woodline Partners LP lifted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 40.7% during the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 26,747 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,532,000 after purchasing an additional 7,735 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC grew its position in Valero Energy by 13.0% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,929 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $259,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Valero Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at about $865,000. CreativeOne Wealth LLC increased its stake in Valero Energy by 10.4% in the 2nd quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 6,234 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $838,000 after buying an additional 588 shares during the last quarter. Finally, J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 26.3% during the 2nd quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 10,571 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,421,000 after buying an additional 2,199 shares in the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $209.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $183.67. The stock has a market cap of $76.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.32, a PEG ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The oil and gas company reported $3.82 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 return on equity of 12.35% and a net margin of 1.91%.Valero Energy’s revenue was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.64 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Valero Energy Corporation will post 7.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 9th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 5th were given a dividend of $1.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 5th. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. This is a boost from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.13. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is 62.83%.

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.