Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich Buys Shares of 2,709 Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich bought a new stake in shares of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm bought 2,709 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $441,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft bought a new stake in Valero Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $655,000. Western Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Valero Energy by 17.6% during the 4th quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,143 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $674,000 after purchasing an additional 619 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP increased its position in shares of Valero Energy by 77.1% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 26,289 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $4,280,000 after purchasing an additional 11,443 shares during the period. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Valero Energy by 49.3% during the 4th quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 3,775 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $615,000 after purchasing an additional 1,247 shares during the period. Finally, Strategic Family Wealth Counselors L.L.C. acquired a new position in shares of Valero Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $335,000. Institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.60, for a total transaction of $95,440.00. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.36% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Valero Energy Stock Up 2.3%

Shares of Valero Energy stock opened at $250.34 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $238.98 and its 200-day moving average is $201.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $74.33 billion, a PE ratio of 18.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.35 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. Valero Energy Corporation has a 12-month low of $125.10 and a 12-month high of $258.43.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The oil and gas company reported $4.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.16 by $1.06. The company had revenue of $32.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.38 billion. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 15.94% and a net margin of 3.37%.Valero Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.89 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Valero Energy Corporation will post 28.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be given a dividend of $1.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is 34.88%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on VLO. Weiss Ratings upgraded Valero Energy from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Valero Energy from $215.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Valero Energy from $182.00 to $222.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Raymond James Financial lifted their price target on Valero Energy from $215.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. Finally, Argus upgraded Valero Energy to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $237.94.

Key Valero Energy News

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.
• 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.