Empirical Finance LLC Has $6.63 Million Holdings in Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Empirical Finance LLC lifted its position in Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) by 53.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 25,476 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,862 shares during the quarter. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $6,635,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its stake in Valero Energy by 40,516.1% during the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 143,816,270 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $37,455,509,000 after purchasing an additional 143,462,183 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 18,177,191 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,959,065,000 after buying an additional 163,975 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,950,982 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,945,500,000 after buying an additional 63,919 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Valero Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $1,111,542,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in Valero Energy by 7.5% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,668,210 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $922,728,000 after buying an additional 394,693 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Valero Energy

In other news, SVP Eric Fisher sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.17, for a total transaction of $2,011,275.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 19,742 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,294,212.14. This trade represents a 27.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Valero Energy

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

• Positive Sentiment: UBS raised its price target to $450 from $355 and upgraded Valero to “buy.” The new target implies additional upside from recent trading levels and is the clearest immediate catalyst for the stock’s advance. Ticker Report article
• Positive Sentiment: Refining-market conditions remain favorable. Disruptions to global refining capacity have tightened gasoline, diesel and jet-fuel supplies, driving an unusually sharp rise in refining margins. Wells Fargo has increased its exposure to major U.S. refiners, supporting the broader sector and Valero’s investment case. Wells Fargo refining stocks article
• Positive Sentiment: Strong second-quarter results and institutional buying continue to support sentiment. Valero previously reported earnings and revenue well above analyst expectations, while its refining performance has benefited from stronger margins. Valero stock gains article
• Neutral Sentiment: Valero will release third-quarter 2026 results before the market opens on October 22 and host an earnings conference call at 10:00 a.m. ET. The announcement provides a near-term catalyst, but contains no new financial results. Valero earnings announcement
• Neutral Sentiment: Geopolitical tensions involving Iran have helped lift energy shares, although this catalyst could increase market volatility and may not directly improve Valero’s operating results. Energy stocks market movers article

Valero Energy Stock Up 3.4%

Shares of NYSE VLO traded up $12.73 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $383.45. The stock had a trading volume of 2,737,284 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,291,313. The company has a market capitalization of $110.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.91, a P/E/G ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 0.57. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $317.34 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $266.53. Valero Energy Corporation has a 52 week low of $153.60 and a 52 week high of $384.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 1.64.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The oil and gas company reported $12.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $10.11 by $2.43. The firm had revenue of $44.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $39.47 billion. Valero Energy had a net margin of 5.17% and a return on equity of 26.74%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 48.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.28 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Valero Energy Corporation will post 41.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 31st were paid a dividend of $1.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 31st. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 19.92%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VLO has been the subject of a number of research reports. Zacks Research upgraded Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Valero Energy from $232.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, June 12th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Valero Energy from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $350.00 price target on shares of Valero Energy in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $259.00 to $302.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $301.76.

Valero Energy 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.