Valvoline Inc. (NYSE:VVV) Shares Purchased by Dimensional Fund Advisors LP

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Valvoline Inc. (NYSE:VVV) by 3.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,720,748 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 94,673 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned approximately 2.11% of Valvoline worth $117,534,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Valvoline by 57.9% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 728 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 267 shares during the period. Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its stake in Valvoline by 23.1% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,940 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $73,000 after purchasing an additional 364 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Valvoline by 2.0% during the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 27,158 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,173,000 after purchasing an additional 537 shares in the last quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Valvoline by 1.2% in the second quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 46,713 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,018,000 after purchasing an additional 541 shares during the period. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of Valvoline by 1.6% in the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 34,481 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,490,000 after purchasing an additional 544 shares in the last quarter. 96.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VVV has been the subject of several recent research reports. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on shares of Valvoline in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $49.00 price target for the company. Citigroup lifted their target price on Valvoline from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Robert W. Baird started coverage on Valvoline in a report on Thursday, August 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $48.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Valvoline from $50.00 to $46.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Baird R W raised Valvoline to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $47.57.

Valvoline Stock Performance

Shares of VVV opened at $41.21 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.71 and a beta of 1.45. Valvoline Inc. has a 52-week low of $29.15 and a 52-week high of $48.26. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.57. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $42.34 and a 200 day moving average price of $42.47.

Valvoline (NYSE:VVV) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The basic materials company reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.48 by ($0.03). Valvoline had a net margin of 10.45% and a return on equity of 182.88%. The company had revenue of $421.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $425.17 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.43 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Valvoline Inc. will post 1.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valvoline declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Tuesday, July 30th that allows the company to buyback $400.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the basic materials company to purchase up to 7.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.