Short Interest in Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) Declines By 25.9%

Key Points

• Short interest in Valero fell 25.9% in March to 10,371,072 shares (about 3.5% of shares short), leaving a short-interest ratio of roughly 2.0 days.
• Multiple brokerages have raised price targets and maintained bullish ratings (e.g., Barclays, UBS, Piper Sandler), and refiners like Valero are benefiting from high oil and record crack spreads, providing a structural profitability tailwind.
• Near-term risks include an explosion/fire at the Port Arthur refinery and the winding down of Benicia operations, plus margin sensitivity to crude price swings and some insider/institutional selling, creating operational and earnings uncertainty.

Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 10,371,072 shares, a decrease of 25.9% from the March 15th total of 13,987,365 shares. Currently, 3.5% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 5,108,175 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.0 days.

Key Valero Energy News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Several analysts lifted price targets and maintained bullish ratings, providing upside narrative and institutional validation — Citigroup raised its target to $246 (neutral) and Piper Sandler lifted its target to $263 and kept an Overweight rating. Read More. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Refiners are benefiting from high oil and record crack spreads (product margins), a structural tailwind that helps Valero’s profitability even if crude rises. This sector-level thesis supports upside for VLO if product prices stay strong. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Value/income investor interest: Zacks highlights VLO as a top-ranked value stock, which can attract longer-term buyers focused on yield and valuation metrics. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Broader market strength (risk-on moves) can lift cyclical energy names including refiners, but VLO’s reaction will depend on crude-product spreads rather than equity momentum alone. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Near-term margin pressure after crude rallied: rapid crude price moves can compress crack spreads if product prices lag, and that dynamic was cited as a driver of recent weakness. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Operational/firm-specific risks: Valero confirmed an explosion/fire at its Port Arthur refinery and is winding down Benicia operations — both increase short-term throughput uncertainty and sensitivity to operational headlines. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Recent selling signals: the stock showed a dip while the market gained (reported coverage of the decline) and Quiver flags recent insider and large institutional reductions, which can add near-term selling pressure. Read More. Read More.

Insider Transactions at Valero Energy

In other Valero Energy news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 400 shares of the company's 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.36% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. State Street Corp boosted its position in Valero Energy by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 18,177,191 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $2,959,065,000 after acquiring an additional 163,975 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Valero Energy by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,950,982 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $1,945,500,000 after acquiring an additional 63,919 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Valero Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,111,542,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in Valero Energy by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,668,210 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $922,728,000 after acquiring an additional 394,693 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its stake in Valero Energy by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 4,143,672 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $705,502,000 after buying an additional 209,597 shares during the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

Valero Energy stock traded down $0.59 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $234.99. The stock had a trading volume of 2,286,325 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,334,881. The stock's 50 day moving average is $223.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $190.57. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. Valero Energy has a 1 year low of $106.25 and a 1 year high of $258.43. The stock has a market cap of $70.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 0.62.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The oil and gas company reported $3.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.27 by $0.55. The business had revenue of $30.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $28.20 billion. Valero Energy had a net margin of 1.91% and a return on equity of 12.35%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.64 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Valero Energy will post 7.92 EPS for the current year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 5th were paid a $1.20 dividend. This is a boost from Valero Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $1.13. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 5th. Valero Energy's payout ratio is currently 62.83%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on VLO. Argus upgraded Valero Energy to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Barclays raised their price objective on Valero Energy from $184.00 to $261.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Wall Street Zen raised Valero Energy from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, April 4th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Valero Energy from $215.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Valero Energy from $220.00 to $292.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Valero Energy presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $230.00.

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.

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