Phoenix Financial Ltd. Sells 5,767 Shares of Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Key Points

• Phoenix Financial Ltd. cut its Valero Energy stake by 53% in the fourth quarter, selling 5,767 shares and leaving it with 5,124 shares valued at about $834,000.
• Valero reported better-than-expected quarterly results, posting EPS of $4.22 versus the $3.16 estimate and revenue of $32.38 billion, up 7% from a year earlier.
• The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $1.20 per share, and Wall Street remains cautiously positive with an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $237.94.

Phoenix Financial Ltd. lowered its stake in shares of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO - Free Report) by 53.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,124 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 5,767 shares during the quarter. Phoenix Financial Ltd.'s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $834,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VLO. Woodline Partners LP boosted its position in 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 boosted its position in Valero Energy by 13.0% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,929 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $259,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares in the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL bought a new stake in Valero Energy during the second quarter valued at about $528,000. Sei Investments Co. boosted its position in Valero Energy by 11.3% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 269,043 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $36,165,000 after purchasing an additional 27,291 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina boosted its position in Valero Energy by 0.9% during the second quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 145,810 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $19,600,000 after purchasing an additional 1,338 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.69% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 8,311 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.69, for a total value of $1,892,331.59. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 42,242 shares in the company, valued at $9,618,080.98. This trade represents a 16.44% 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. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on VLO shares. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Valero Energy from $182.00 to $222.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. UBS Group raised their price target on Valero Energy from $215.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. TD Cowen raised their price target on Valero Energy from $255.00 to $276.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Valero Energy from $203.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, Raymond James Financial raised their price target on Valero Energy from $215.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Valero Energy presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $237.94.

Valero Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE VLO opened at $250.34 on Friday. Valero Energy Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $125.10 and a fifty-two week high of $258.43. The company has a market cap of $74.33 billion, a PE ratio of 18.19, a P/E/G ratio of 0.34 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.58. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $238.98 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $201.68.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The oil and gas company reported $4.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.16 by $1.06. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 15.94% and a net margin of 3.37%.The firm had revenue of $32.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $31.38 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.89 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Valero Energy Corporation will post 28.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be paid a $1.20 dividend. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. Valero Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.88%.

Key Stories Impacting Valero Energy

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

• Positive Sentiment: Scotiabank raised its earnings estimates for Valero Energy, lifting FY2026 EPS to $27.10 from $25.85 and FY2027 EPS to $26.15 from $24.80, while keeping a Sector Outperform rating and a $226 target price. Scotiabank estimate update
• Positive Sentiment: Several recent writeups highlighted Valero’s refining flexibility, higher export volumes, and strong margins, saying tight global fuel supply continues to support profitability and has helped drive the stock’s strong year-long outperformance. Yahoo Finance article
• Positive Sentiment: Market commentary also pointed to a historic SPR-related pricing dislocation creating an arbitrage opportunity for refiners like Valero, which could support near-term refining economics. MarketBeat article
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst-target articles suggest Wall Street remains moderately optimistic, but they do not add a new catalyst beyond the already favorable refining backdrop. Barchart article

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.

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