Valvoline (NYSE:VVV) Earns Overweight Rating from Analysts at Stephens

Stephens initiated coverage on shares of Valvoline (NYSE:VVV) in a research note published on Tuesday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm issued an overweight rating and a $49.00 target price on the basic materials company’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of 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 cut their target price on shares of Valvoline from $50.00 to $46.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Baird R W upgraded shares of Valvoline to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Robert W. Baird started coverage on Valvoline in a report on Thursday, August 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $48.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on Valvoline from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Valvoline currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $47.75.

Valvoline Stock Performance

Shares of Valvoline stock opened at $41.79 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.57. The company has a market cap of $5.38 billion, a PE ratio of 33.17 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a 50 day moving average of $41.01 and a 200-day moving average of $42.10. Valvoline has a 1-year low of $29.15 and a 1-year high of $48.26.

Valvoline (NYSE:VVV) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The basic materials company reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.48 by ($0.03). Valvoline had a return on equity of 182.88% and a net margin of 10.45%. The business had revenue of $421.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $425.17 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.43 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Valvoline will post 1.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valvoline declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, July 30th that permits the company to buyback $400.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the basic materials company to reacquire up to 7.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Valvoline

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VVV. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in shares of Valvoline by 57.9% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 728 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 267 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in Valvoline by 92.1% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 630 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 302 shares during the period. Evergreen Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Valvoline by 6.1% in the second quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 6,292 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $272,000 after purchasing an additional 359 shares in the last quarter. Park Place Capital Corp increased its stake in Valvoline by 29.3% in the third quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 1,608 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $67,000 after purchasing an additional 364 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Valvoline by 46.5% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,465 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 465 shares during the period. 96.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.