Valvoline Inc. (NYSE:VVV) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Valvoline Inc. (NYSE:VVV) has received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, six have given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $44.40.

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Mizuho lowered their target price on Valvoline from $46.00 to $42.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Valvoline from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Stifel Nicolaus began coverage on Valvoline in a research report on Friday, December 20th. They set a “hold” rating and a $42.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $38.00 price objective (down from $42.00) on shares of Valvoline in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Valvoline from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CTO Robert Travis Dobbins sold 1,914 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.00, for a total value of $76,560.00. Following the sale, the chief technology officer now directly owns 14,956 shares in the company, valued at approximately $598,240. The trade was a 11.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.66% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Valvoline

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Valvoline by 0.4% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,096,436 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $171,436,000 after buying an additional 16,916 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC increased its stake in Valvoline by 8.1% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 422,989 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $17,702,000 after acquiring an additional 31,661 shares during the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new stake in Valvoline during the third quarter worth approximately $4,628,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its stake in Valvoline by 118.2% during the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 67,948 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,844,000 after acquiring an additional 36,814 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Valvoline by 2.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,226,769 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $93,215,000 after acquiring an additional 54,545 shares during the last quarter. 96.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Valvoline Stock Performance

Shares of VVV opened at $37.46 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.39, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.58. Valvoline has a one year low of $33.90 and a one year high of $48.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.92 and a beta of 1.45. The business has a fifty day moving average of $37.01 and a 200 day moving average of $39.44.

Valvoline (NYSE:VVV) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.31 by $0.01. Valvoline had a return on equity of 143.64% and a net margin of 16.34%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Valvoline will post 1.63 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.