Empirical Finance LLC Raises Stock Position in Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Empirical Finance LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) by 53.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 25,476 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,862 shares during the quarter. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $6,635,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VLO. Woodline Partners LP grew its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 40.7% in 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 buying an additional 7,735 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in Valero Energy by 13.0% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,929 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $259,000 after acquiring an additional 222 shares in the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL purchased a new position in Valero Energy in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $528,000. Sei Investments Co. grew its position in Valero Energy by 11.3% in 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 acquiring an additional 27,291 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina boosted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 0.9% in 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 during the period. 78.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

More Valero Energy News

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

• Positive Sentiment: UBS raised its price target to $450 from $355 and upgraded Valero to “buy.” The new target implies additional upside from recent trading levels and is the clearest immediate catalyst for the stock’s advance. Ticker Report article
• Positive Sentiment: Refining-market conditions remain favorable. Disruptions to global refining capacity have tightened gasoline, diesel and jet-fuel supplies, driving an unusually sharp rise in refining margins. Wells Fargo has increased its exposure to major U.S. refiners, supporting the broader sector and Valero’s investment case. Wells Fargo refining stocks article
• Positive Sentiment: Strong second-quarter results and institutional buying continue to support sentiment. Valero previously reported earnings and revenue well above analyst expectations, while its refining performance has benefited from stronger margins. Valero stock gains article
• Neutral Sentiment: Valero will release third-quarter 2026 results before the market opens on October 22 and host an earnings conference call at 10:00 a.m. ET. The announcement provides a near-term catalyst, but contains no new financial results. Valero earnings announcement
• Neutral Sentiment: Geopolitical tensions involving Iran have helped lift energy shares, although this catalyst could increase market volatility and may not directly improve Valero’s operating results. Energy stocks market movers article

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VLO has been the topic of several analyst reports. Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of Valero Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 27th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $338.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group set a $350.00 target price on Valero Energy in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Valero Energy from $232.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price target on Valero Energy from $289.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Valero Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $301.76.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Valero Energy news, SVP Eric Fisher sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.17, for a total value of $2,011,275.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 19,742 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,294,212.14. This represents a 27.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.36% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

NYSE VLO traded up $12.73 on Tuesday, hitting $383.45. The stock had a trading volume of 2,737,284 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,291,313. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The company’s 50-day moving average is $317.34 and its two-hundred day moving average is $266.53. The stock has a market cap of $110.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.91, a P/E/G ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 0.57. Valero Energy Corporation has a one year low of $153.60 and a one year high of $384.26.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The oil and gas company reported $12.54 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $10.11 by $2.43. The firm had revenue of $44.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $39.47 billion. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 26.74% and a net margin of 5.17%.The firm’s revenue was up 48.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.28 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Valero Energy Corporation will post 41.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 31st were issued a $1.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 31st. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 19.92%.

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.