Erste Group Bank Weighs in on Valero Energy FY2026 Earnings

Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) – Equities research analysts at Erste Group Bank boosted their FY2026 EPS estimates for Valero Energy in a report issued on Thursday, April 2nd. Erste Group Bank analyst H. Engel now forecasts that the oil and gas company will post earnings of $17.71 per share for the year, up from their previous forecast of $14.41. The consensus estimate for Valero Energy’s current full-year earnings is $7.92 per share. Erste Group Bank also issued estimates for Valero Energy’s FY2027 earnings at $14.53 EPS.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on VLO. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Valero Energy from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 4th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $215.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. Argus raised shares of Valero Energy to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $197.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $222.00.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:VLO opened at $239.79 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $71.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $218.89 and a 200-day moving average price of $188.58. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. Valero Energy has a 12 month low of $101.66 and a 12 month high of $258.43.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The oil and gas company reported $3.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.27 by $0.55. The business had revenue of $30.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $28.20 billion. Valero Energy had a net margin of 1.91% and a return on equity of 12.35%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.64 earnings per share.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Valero Energy

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Highline Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Valero Energy by 70.2% during the third quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 160 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the period. JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Valero Energy during the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Torren Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Valero Energy during the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. AXS Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Valero Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. grew its holdings in Valero Energy by 157.0% in the fourth quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. now owns 203 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 8,311 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.69, for a total transaction of $1,892,331.59. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 42,242 shares in the company, valued at $9,618,080.98. The trade was a 16.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.04% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 5th were given a dividend of $1.20 per share. This is an increase from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.13. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 5th. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 62.83%.

Key Valero Energy News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Barclays raised its price target on VLO to $261 and kept an “overweight” rating, signaling confidence in Valero’s outlook. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Piper Sandler bumped its target to $263 and maintained an “overweight” view, another institutional vote of confidence. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Goldman Sachs reiterated its “buy” rating on Valero, and BMO coverage also signaled expected upside—supporting the case for further appreciation if operational issues are resolved. Article Title Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Market commentary notes VLO has delivered strong year-to-date and multi-year returns, which may temper investor sentiment about valuation even as fundamentals remain in focus. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Reuters reports the March 23 Port Arthur explosion destroyed a diesel hydrotreater and the control room for multiple hydrotreating units — a significant operational hit for Valero’s 380,000 bpd refinery that could constrain output, raise repair costs and pressure margins. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: A lawsuit alleges gross negligence tied to the Port Arthur incident, introducing legal exposure and regulatory scrutiny that increase uncertainty about potential liabilities and remediation timelines. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Coverage noting the stock fell amid a market uptick underscores that the operational/legal news is outweighing analyst upgrades in near-term trading. Article Title

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.