California Public Employees Retirement System Buys 95,268 Shares of Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

California Public Employees Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) by 16.8% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 661,410 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 95,268 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $163,421,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 3,400.0% in the first 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 period. JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Valero Energy during the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in Valero Energy during the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Valero Energy by 134.0% during the 1st quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 117 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Torren Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Valero Energy in the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Valero Energy News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Valero expanded its share repurchase authorization, which can boost earnings per share over time and indicates the board sees value in the stock. Valero Energy Expands Share Repurchase Authorization Program
• Positive Sentiment: Valero declared a quarterly cash dividend of $1.20 per share, reinforcing its appeal to income-focused investors and highlighting strong cash generation. Valero Energy Corporation Declares Regular Cash Dividend on Common Stock
• Positive Sentiment: Energy stocks rose late Friday afternoon, with the broader sector gaining on the day, which likely provided a supportive backdrop for VLO shares. Sector Update: Energy Stocks Rise Late Afternoon
• Neutral Sentiment: Separately, there was unusual put-option activity in Valero, suggesting some traders are hedging or positioning for near-term volatility rather than making a clear directional bet.
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent articles also pointed to improving earnings estimates and momentum, which may be helping sentiment, though these were commentary pieces rather than new company announcements. Can Valero Energy (VLO) Run Higher on Rising Earnings Estimates?

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VLO has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $259.00 to $302.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $220.00 to $292.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Raymond James Financial boosted their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $178.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $253.06.

Valero Energy Stock Up 3.1%

Shares of VLO stock opened at $309.50 on Friday. Valero Energy Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $130.78 and a fifty-two week high of $309.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $91.90 billion, a PE ratio of 22.49, a P/E/G ratio of 0.38 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.58. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $258.97 and its 200-day simple moving average is $229.32.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The oil and gas company reported $4.22 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.16 by $1.06. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 15.94% and a net margin of 3.37%.The firm had revenue of $32.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.38 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.89 earnings per share. Valero Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Valero Energy Corporation will post 32.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 31st will be paid a dividend of $1.20 per share. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 31st. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is presently 34.88%.

Insider Activity at Valero Energy

In other news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the senior vice president owned 19,742 shares in the company, valued at $5,294,212.14. This represents a 27.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.36% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.