Valero Energy Corporation $VLO Shares Sold by Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC

Key Points

• Brandywine Global Investment Management trimmed its Valero Energy stake by 2.2% in the fourth quarter, selling 4,928 shares and ending with 221,002 shares worth about $36 million.
• Several analysts turned more bullish on Valero Energy, with major firms like Barclays, BMO Capital Markets, Goldman Sachs, Raymond James, and Wells Fargo all raising price targets. The stock now carries an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target of $243.65.
• Valero reported strong quarterly results, posting EPS of $4.22 versus the $3.16 estimate and revenue of $32.38 billion, while also announcing a quarterly dividend of $1.20 per share.

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC decreased its position in shares of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO - Free Report) by 2.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 221,002 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 4,928 shares during the period. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC owned 0.07% of Valero Energy worth $35,977,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 5.3% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 4,143,672 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $705,502,000 after buying an additional 209,597 shares in the last quarter. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 33.5% in 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 boosted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 13.7% in 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 purchased a new stake in shares of Valero Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $954,000. Finally, CWA Asset Management Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 359.0% in 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.69% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays upped their target price on Valero Energy from $184.00 to $261.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Valero Energy from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, April 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Valero Energy from $203.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Raymond James Financial upped their price target on Valero Energy from $215.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Valero Energy from $220.00 to $292.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note 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 assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently 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 stock's 50 day moving average price is $244.87 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $210.52. Valero Energy Corporation has a 52-week low of $128.02 and a 52-week high of $265.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $76.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.75, a PEG ratio of 0.38 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The oil and gas company reported $4.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.16 by $1.06. The firm had revenue of $32.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $31.38 billion. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 15.94% and a net margin of 3.37%.Valero Energy's revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.89 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Valero Energy Corporation will post 26.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The firm 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 $1.20 dividend. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. Valero Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.88%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 400 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.60, for a total value of $95,440.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.

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