State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Sells 22,640 Shares of Valvoline Inc. (NYSE:VVV)

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D lessened its holdings in Valvoline Inc. (NYSE:VVV) by 32.4% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 47,289 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 22,640 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in Valvoline were worth $2,043,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wasatch Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Valvoline by 25.1% in the first quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 8,507,925 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $379,198,000 after purchasing an additional 1,706,190 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in Valvoline by 19,218.1% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,735,549 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $140,382,000 after acquiring an additional 3,716,212 shares in the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA boosted its holdings in Valvoline by 6.5% during the 1st quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA now owns 3,499,430 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $155,970,000 after acquiring an additional 212,428 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Management Inc. WI grew its stake in shares of Valvoline by 55.0% in the 4th quarter. Fiduciary Management Inc. WI now owns 3,055,520 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $114,826,000 after acquiring an additional 1,083,722 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Junto Capital Management LP grew its stake in shares of Valvoline by 41.1% in the 4th quarter. Junto Capital Management LP now owns 2,488,435 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $93,515,000 after acquiring an additional 724,967 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on VVV. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Valvoline from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on Valvoline from $54.00 to $48.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Valvoline from $50.00 to $46.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on Valvoline in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $49.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Robert W. Baird began coverage on Valvoline in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $48.00 target price for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Valvoline currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $47.57.

Valvoline Stock Performance

Shares of VVV opened at $41.20 on Friday. Valvoline Inc. has a 1 year low of $29.15 and a 1 year high of $48.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.57, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.62. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $42.34 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $42.49. The firm has a market cap of $5.31 billion, a PE ratio of 32.70 and a beta of 1.45.

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

Valvoline announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Tuesday, July 30th that authorizes the company to buyback $400.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the basic materials company to buy up to 7.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board 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.