Mather Group LLC. Has $431,000 Position in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Mather Group LLC. lessened its holdings in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 22.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,515 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 1,033 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC.’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $431,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Valero Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Valero Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA acquired a new stake in shares of Valero Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at $34,000. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 196.8% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 276 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Valero Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VLO has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $160.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Scotiabank cut their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $173.00 to $141.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $146.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $192.00 to $176.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Bank of America started coverage on shares of Valero Energy in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $150.00 target price for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $154.46.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

NYSE VLO opened at $140.54 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $44.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.57, a PEG ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 1.42. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $130.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is $137.31. Valero Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $116.84 and a twelve month high of $184.79. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The oil and gas company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.50. Valero Energy had a net margin of 2.13% and a return on equity of 9.58%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Valero Energy Co. will post 8.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, January 30th will be paid a $1.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 30th. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.22%. This is a boost from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.07. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is presently 53.30%.

About Valero Energy

Valero Energy Corporation manufactures, markets, and sells petroleum-based and low-carbon liquid transportation fuels and petrochemical products in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Latin America, Mexico, Peru, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Refining, Renewable Diesel, and Ethanol.