Valero Energy Corporation $VLO Stock: Nisa Investment Advisors LLC Trims Stake

Nisa Investment Advisors LLC cut its holdings in shares of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) by 2.3% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 155,825 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 3,748 shares during the quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $60,399,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in VLO. Whipplewood Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Valero Energy by 3,400.0% during the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 105 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC boosted its position in Valero Energy by 57.6% during the second quarter. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC now owns 104 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in Valero Energy during the first quarter worth $28,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Valero Energy by 134.0% during the first quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 117 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. Finally, Global Assets Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the first quarter valued at $33,000. 78.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Valero Energy News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Investors are optimistic ahead of Valero’s third-quarter results, scheduled before the market opens on October 22. Higher refining margins are expected to support profitability and could reinforce the company’s strong earnings momentum. Valero Energy’s Q3 Earnings Approach: Higher Refining Margins Fuel Optimism
• Positive Sentiment: Valero was included in Zacks’ Rank #1, or “Strong Buy,” growth-stock list. The designation may attract additional interest, particularly as the company trades well above its longer-term moving averages and approaches its 52-week high. Best Growth Stocks to Buy for October 19th
• Positive Sentiment: A new $8 billion federal program to help farmers offset surging diesel costs highlights tight fuel markets and supply disruptions linked to Iran. Elevated diesel prices can improve refinery economics for Valero, although the longer-term effect depends on demand and the duration of the disruption. Trump announces $8B bailout for farmers to cover diesel cost surge
• Neutral Sentiment: Preview reports are focusing on estimates for Valero’s third-quarter revenue, earnings and operating metrics, making the October 22 release the key near-term catalyst. Valero previously exceeded quarterly earnings expectations, raising the bar for another beat. Insights Into Valero Energy Q3
• Negative Sentiment: DBS Bank downgraded Valero to Hold while assigning a $436 price target, indicating limited near-term upside after the stock’s substantial rally. The call could temper bullish sentiment ahead of earnings. DBS Bank Downgrades Valero Energy to Hold

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VLO has been the topic of several research reports. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $302.00 to $485.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 13th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $329.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 3rd. Erste Group Bank cut shares of Valero Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 27th. Raymond James Financial lifted their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $350.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $255.00 to $411.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Valero Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $382.62.

Valero Energy Trading Up 0.1%

VLO stock opened at $433.85 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 1.64. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $387.70 and its 200 day simple moving average is $306.74. Valero Energy Corporation has a 52 week low of $156.26 and a 52 week high of $461.52. The company has a market capitalization of $124.92 billion, a PE ratio of 17.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.28 and a beta of 0.59.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The oil and gas company reported $12.54 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.11 by $2.43. Valero Energy had a net margin of 5.17% and a return on equity of 26.74%. The business had revenue of $44.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $39.47 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.28 earnings per share. Valero Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up 48.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Valero Energy Corporation will post 51.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Valero Energy Profile

Valero Energy Corporation is an international energy company headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. The company’s primary business is refining and marketing transportation fuels, including gasoline, diesel, jet fuel and other products used by commercial, industrial and consumer customers.

Valero operates refineries in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. Its refining operations also produce asphalt, petrochemical feedstocks and other petroleum-based products. The company markets fuel through wholesale channels and branded retail networks, including Valero, Beacon and Shamrock-branded locations.

In addition to conventional refining, Valero has businesses focused on renewable fuels.