Valero Energy Corporation $VLO Position Lessened by Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) by 2.2% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 221,002 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 4,928 shares during the quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $35,977,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 5.3% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 4,143,672 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $705,502,000 after acquiring an additional 209,597 shares in the last quarter. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. raised its holdings in Valero Energy by 33.5% during the fourth quarter. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. now owns 42,376 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $6,898,000 after buying an additional 10,634 shares in the last quarter. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Valero Energy by 13.7% during the third quarter. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC now owns 115,183 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $19,612,000 after buying an additional 13,923 shares in the last quarter. Friedenthal Financial bought a new position in Valero Energy during the fourth quarter valued at about $954,000. Finally, CWA Asset Management Group LLC raised its holdings in Valero Energy by 359.0% during the fourth quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 14,243 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,319,000 after buying an additional 11,140 shares in the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 400 shares of Valero Energy stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.60, for a total transaction of $95,440.00. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VLO has been the topic of several recent research reports. TD Cowen raised their target price on Valero Energy from $255.00 to $276.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Valero Energy from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Valero Energy from $203.00 to $237.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Valero Energy from $236.00 to $263.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Valero Energy from $220.00 to $292.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Valero Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $243.65.

Valero Energy Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of NYSE:VLO opened at $258.03 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $76.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.75, a P/E/G ratio of 0.38 and a beta of 0.55. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $244.87 and its 200-day moving average is $210.52. Valero Energy Corporation has a 52-week low of $128.02 and a 52-week high of $265.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.58.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The oil and gas company reported $4.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $32.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.38 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.89 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Valero Energy Corporation will post 26.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, May 21st will be given a dividend of $1.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.88%.

Valero Energy Company 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.