Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund Has $6.04 Million Position in Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund boosted its stake in shares of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) by 31.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 35,469 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,408 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $6,039,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VLO. Great Lakes Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Valero Energy during the 1st quarter valued at $264,000. 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 during the last quarter. Integrity Alliance LLC. purchased a new position in Valero Energy in the first quarter valued at about $554,000. Focus Partners Wealth increased its position in Valero Energy by 37.0% in the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 46,854 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $6,188,000 after purchasing an additional 12,655 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strs Ohio purchased a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the 1st quarter worth about $15,994,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Valero Energy

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

• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo and Barclays reaffirmed buy ratings on VLO, reinforcing institutional support that can underpin the stock. Wells Fargo Keeps Their Buy Rating on Valero Energy (VLO)
• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan raised its price target to $200 and keeps an overweight view, signaling analysts see upside versus recent levels. JPMorgan raises VLO target
• Positive Sentiment: Media and TV commentary (Jim Cramer) highlight refiners like Valero as potential beneficiaries if U.S. policy opens access to Venezuelan crude — a positive sentiment tailwind for refining margins and investor interest. Jim Cramer Says Refiners Like Valero as Potential Winners From Venezuelan Oil
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks notes Valero’s strong earnings surprise history and factors (operational flexibility, margin capture) that increase the odds of an earnings beat — a catalyst that could lift the stock if results beat again. Will Valero Energy (VLO) Beat Estimates Again?
• Neutral Sentiment: Unusually high options volume indicates heavy positioning/speculation around VLO — can amplify moves in either direction but doesn’t signal a fundamental change alone. Valero Energy Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:VLO)
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage of a White House meeting with oil majors (Barron’s) and comments that majors may move slowly into Venezuela (Reuters) create a mixed timeline: policy momentum exists, but execution and investment timelines remain uncertain. Trump to Meet With Chevron and Other Oil Companies on Venezuela Bessent says largest oil companies are likely to move slower in Venezuela
• Negative Sentiment: Critical analysis (Seeking Alpha) calls the “Venezuela hype” into question, arguing the upside may be overstated — this increased skepticism can pressure the stock if investors reassess realistic benefits. Valero Energy: Sell The Venezuela Hype
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that U.S. oil companies want firm guarantees before investing in Venezuela (FT/Reuters) highlight political, legal and investment risk — a material constraint on how quickly Valero could benefit. US oil companies say they need guarantees to invest in Venezuela
• Negative Sentiment: Piper Sandler trimmed its price target (from $223 to $217) — a modest downgrade to upside expectations that can add downward pressure despite an overweight rating. Piper Sandler lowers PT

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Valero Energy from $181.00 to $194.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 10th. Bank of America reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $195.00 target price (down from $198.00) on shares of Valero Energy in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Valero Energy in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $216.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 10th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $195.00 price objective (up from $181.00) on shares of Valero Energy in a report on Friday, October 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $183.00.

Valero Energy Price Performance

NYSE VLO opened at $185.30 on Friday. Valero Energy Corporation has a 1 year low of $99.00 and a 1 year high of $192.00. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $172.96 and a 200 day simple moving average of $159.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The company has a market cap of $56.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 0.77.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The oil and gas company reported $3.66 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.15 by $0.51. Valero Energy had a net margin of 1.21% and a return on equity of 8.69%. The firm had revenue of $32.17 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $28.80 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.14 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Valero Energy Corporation will post 7.92 EPS for the current year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 18th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 20th were given a dividend of $1.13 per share. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 20th. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is currently 94.36%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Valero Energy news, CFO Jason W. Fraser sold 9,933 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.02, for a total value of $1,728,540.66. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 134,196 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,352,787.92. This trade represents a 6.89% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.