Valero Energy Corporation $VLO Stock Holdings Lifted by North Dakota State Investment Board

North Dakota State Investment Board increased its holdings in Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) by 41.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 12,771 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,732 shares during the period. North Dakota State Investment Board’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $4,950,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VLO. VestGen Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 10.2% in the 3rd quarter. VestGen Advisors LLC now owns 4,701 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,822,000 after acquiring an additional 434 shares during the last quarter. Financial Insights Inc. acquired a new stake in Valero Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $222,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Valero Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $215,000. Victory Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Valero Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $326,000. Finally, Generali Asset Management SPA SGR lifted its stake in Valero Energy by 1.8% during the third quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR now owns 40,423 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $15,668,000 after purchasing an additional 734 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:VLO opened at $388.39 on Thursday. Valero Energy Corporation has a 52 week low of $159.90 and a 52 week high of $461.52. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $395.69 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $282.96. 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 has a market cap of $111.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.24 and a beta of 0.59.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 22nd. The oil and gas company reported $23.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $21.17 by $2.73. The business had revenue of $46.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $42.71 billion. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 47.50% and a net margin of 8.44%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 43.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.66 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Valero Energy Corporation will post 56.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 21st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 24th will be issued a dividend of $1.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 24th. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 10.80%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on VLO. Barclays lifted their price objective on Valero Energy from $441.00 to $443.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Valero Energy from $255.00 to $411.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, September 14th. Mizuho lifted their target price on Valero Energy from $300.00 to $434.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Valero Energy from $485.00 to $490.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Valero Energy from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $379.94.

Key Stories Impacting Valero Energy

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

• Positive Sentiment: Valero maintained its quarterly dividend at $1.20 per share, payable December 21 to shareholders of record November 24. The annualized payout is $4.80 per share, supporting the stock’s income appeal. Valero dividend announcement
• Positive Sentiment: Valero’s latest earnings were exceptionally strong, with quarterly EPS of approximately $23.90 beating consensus and revenue exceeding estimates. The results represented a substantial improvement from the prior-year period, indicating powerful refining economics. Refiner stocks selloff article
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks recently included VLO among its Rank #1 growth stocks, citing strong momentum, earnings surprises and growth projections. Zacks growth stocks article

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.