Valvoline Inc. (NYSE:VVV) Receives $44.40 Consensus Price Target from Analysts

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

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus assumed coverage on Valvoline in a research report on Friday, December 20th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $42.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $38.00 target price (down from $42.00) on shares of Valvoline in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on Valvoline from $48.00 to $46.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Mizuho reduced their price objective on shares of Valvoline from $46.00 to $42.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Valvoline from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Valvoline

In other Valvoline news, insider Julie Marie O’daniel sold 6,000 shares of Valvoline stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.41, for a total transaction of $224,460.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 15,305 shares in the company, valued at approximately $572,560.05. The trade was a 28.16 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CTO Robert Travis Dobbins sold 1,914 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.00, for a total value of $76,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer now directly owns 14,956 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $598,240. This trade represents a 11.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.66% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Valvoline

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Valvoline by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,893,648 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $466,492,000 after purchasing an additional 101,834 shares during the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Valvoline by 11.1% during the fourth quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 10,818,256 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $391,405,000 after acquiring an additional 1,080,114 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Management Inc. WI lifted its holdings in Valvoline by 35.1% during the fourth quarter. Fiduciary Management Inc. WI now owns 4,221,275 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $152,726,000 after acquiring an additional 1,096,486 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 16,916 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Congress Asset Management Co. grew its stake in Valvoline by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 3,656,672 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $153,032,000 after purchasing an additional 100,305 shares during the period. 96.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Valvoline Stock Performance

Shares of VVV stock opened at $35.29 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.49 billion, a PE ratio of 16.89 and a beta of 1.45. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $36.98 and its 200 day simple moving average is $39.28. 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.

Valvoline (NYSE:VVV) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.31 by $0.01. Valvoline had a net margin of 16.34% and a return on equity of 143.64%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Valvoline will post 1.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Valvoline Company Profile

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.