Yousif Capital Management LLC Has $7.52 Million Stock Holdings in Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Key Points

• Yousif Capital Management LLC trimmed its stake in Valero by 8.5% in Q4 and now owns 46,211 shares worth about $7.52 million.
• Multiple brokers raised price targets (Barclays to $261, Piper Sandler to $263; Goldman reiterated a buy), leaving a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target near $222.
• A March 23 Port Arthur refinery explosion destroyed a diesel hydrotreater/control room and spurred a lawsuit alleging gross negligence, creating near-term operational and legal risk.

Yousif Capital Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO - Free Report) by 8.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 46,211 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 4,288 shares during the period. Yousif Capital Management LLC's holdings in Valero Energy were worth $7,523,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Montecito Bank & Trust grew its position in shares of Valero Energy by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Montecito Bank & Trust now owns 3,909 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $636,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Waddell & Associates LLC grew its position in shares of Valero Energy by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Waddell & Associates LLC now owns 2,040 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $347,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. DSG Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Valero Energy by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. DSG Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,803 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $647,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Cypress Capital Group grew its position in shares of Valero Energy by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Cypress Capital Group now owns 18,786 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $3,199,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA grew its position in shares of Valero Energy by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 3,381 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $576,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.69% of the company's stock.

Valero Energy News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Erste Group materially raised its earnings forecasts for Valero (FY2026 and FY2027), boosting EPS expectations well above current consensus — a bullish signal for forward profitability and valuation.
• Positive Sentiment: Barclays raised its price target to $261 and kept an overweight rating, signaling institutional confidence in upside to current levels. Barclays price target raise (Benzinga)
• Positive Sentiment: Piper Sandler boosted its target to $263 and maintained an overweight stance, adding another dealer pushing higher targets. Piper Sandler target raise (TickerReport)
• Positive Sentiment: Goldman Sachs reiterated its buy rating, supporting demand from growth/earnings-focused investors. Goldman Sachs sticks to Buy (Globe & Mail)
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst consensus and market pieces note Valero’s strong YTD performance and ask whether current levels already price-in the rally; useful context for risk/reward but not an immediate catalyst. Is It Too Late To Consider Valero? (Yahoo)
• Neutral Sentiment: Aggregated analyst coverage remains favorable (average rating ~“Moderate Buy”), which supports longer-term interest even amid short-term volatility. Analyst average rating (American Banking News)
• Negative Sentiment: Reuters reports a March 23 explosion at Valero’s 380k bpd Port Arthur refinery destroyed a diesel hydrotreater and the control room for multiple hydrotreaters — a material operational hit that can reduce diesel production and refining margins until repairs/assessments are complete. Port Arthur blast destroyed diesel hydrotreater control room (Reuters)
• Negative Sentiment: Following the blast, a lawsuit alleges gross negligence related to the Port Arthur incident — introduces legal, regulatory and potential financial exposure that increases uncertainty. Lawsuit over refinery explosion (Yahoo)
• Negative Sentiment: Market coverage and intraday pieces note the stock declined amid broader market moves and the operational/legal headlines, reflecting investor risk-off toward near-term production disruption and litigation. Stock falls amid market uptick (Zacks)

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on VLO. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $203.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $184.00 to $261.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Scotiabank upgraded shares of Valero Energy to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $236.00 to $263.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $190.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $222.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 8,311 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.69, for a total transaction of $1,892,331.59. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 42,242 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,618,080.98. This trade represents a 16.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.04% of the company's stock.

Valero Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:VLO opened at $239.79 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $71.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.39, a PEG ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.64 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $218.89 and a 200 day simple moving average of $188.58. Valero Energy Corporation has a one year low of $101.66 and a one year high of $258.43.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The oil and gas company reported $3.82 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.27 by $0.55. The business 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 12.35%. The firm'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 predict that Valero Energy Corporation will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 9th. Stockholders 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 is an increase from Valero Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $1.13. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Valero Energy's payout ratio is 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.

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