Valvoline (NYSE:VVV) Research Coverage Started at StockNews.com

StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Valvoline (NYSE:VVV – Get Rating) in a research note issued to investors on Thursday morning. The brokerage issued a sell rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on VVV. Citigroup lowered shares of Valvoline from a buy rating to a neutral rating and set a $37.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Friday, February 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Valvoline from $36.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 8th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Valvoline from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 8th.

Valvoline Stock Down 1.8 %

Shares of Valvoline stock opened at $33.04 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.72, a current ratio of 1.84 and a quick ratio of 1.81. The company has a 50-day moving average of $35.07 and a 200 day moving average of $31.65. The firm has a market cap of $5.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.12 and a beta of 1.38. Valvoline has a 1 year low of $24.40 and a 1 year high of $37.33.

Valvoline (NYSE:VVV – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 7th. The basic materials company reported $0.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.22 by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $332.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $334.31 million. Valvoline had a return on equity of 126.78% and a net margin of 16.71%. The firm’s revenue was up 15.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.48 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Valvoline will post 1.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CMO Heidi J. Matheys sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.00, for a total transaction of $108,000.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 37,159 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,337,724. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.99% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Valvoline

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in VVV. Boston Partners boosted its holdings in shares of Valvoline by 94.4% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 7,806,725 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $256,145,000 after acquiring an additional 3,791,195 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Valvoline in the fourth quarter worth approximately $60,299,000. Two Sigma Investments LP purchased a new position in shares of Valvoline in the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,511,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new position in shares of Valvoline in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,604,000. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Valvoline by 191.8% in the third quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,247,705 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $31,617,000 after buying an additional 820,074 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.20% of the company’s stock.

About Valvoline

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Valvoline, Inc engages in the production, marketing, and supply of engine and automotive maintenance products and services. It operates through the Retail Services segment. The Retail Services segment services the passenger car and light truck quick lube market in the US and Canada with preventive maintenance services done through company operated and independent franchise care stores.