New York State Common Retirement Fund Lowers Stock Holdings in Valvoline Inc. (NYSE:VVV)

New York State Common Retirement Fund cut its holdings in shares of Valvoline Inc. (NYSE:VVV) by 21.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 180,134 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 49,752 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned about 0.14% of Valvoline worth $6,769,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in VVV. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its holdings in Valvoline by 20.3% in the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,876 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $70,000 after purchasing an additional 316 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Valvoline by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 7,045 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $265,000 after buying an additional 403 shares during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Valvoline by 3.5% during the third quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 12,738 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $411,000 after buying an additional 428 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System increased its stake in shares of Valvoline by 1.2% during the third quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 37,559 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,211,000 after buying an additional 438 shares during the period. Finally, Allworth Financial LP increased its stake in shares of Valvoline by 10.0% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 4,889 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $184,000 after buying an additional 444 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on VVV shares. Mizuho initiated coverage on shares of Valvoline in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Valvoline from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $37.00 to $44.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. Citigroup raised their price target on Valvoline from $36.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Valvoline from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $42.75.

Valvoline Stock Up 2.5 %

VVV opened at $43.62 on Friday. Valvoline Inc. has a one year low of $29.15 and a one year high of $45.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 24.02, a quick ratio of 2.14 and a current ratio of 2.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.42 and a beta of 1.45. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $43.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $38.01.

Valvoline (NYSE:VVV) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.29. The company had revenue of $373.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $380.10 million. Valvoline had a return on equity of 41.83% and a net margin of 92.04%. The firm’s revenue was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.16 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Valvoline Inc. will post 1.61 EPS for the current year.

About Valvoline

Valvoline Inc engages in the operation and franchising of vehicle service centers and retail stores in the United States and Canada. The company, through its service centers, provides fluid exchange for motor oil, transmission and differential fluid, and coolant; parts replacement for batteries, filters, wiper blades, and belts; and safety services, such as tire inflation and rotation, bulbs, and safety checks.