Valvoline (NYSE:VVV) Upgraded at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Valvoline (NYSE:VVV) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report released on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the company. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Valvoline from $42.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Barclays raised their price objective on Valvoline from $35.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Valvoline from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. New Street Research set a $47.00 price objective on Valvoline in a research report on Monday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 price objective on shares of Valvoline in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Valvoline has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $42.50.

Valvoline Stock Down 1.8%

Shares of VVV stock opened at $38.31 on Tuesday. Valvoline has a 12 month low of $28.50 and a 12 month high of $41.33. The stock has a market cap of $4.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.48 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.61. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $37.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $35.27.

Valvoline (NYSE:VVV) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The basic materials company reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $503.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $495.67 million. Valvoline had a net margin of 5.03% and a return on equity of 66.54%. The company’s revenue was up 25.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.34 EPS. Valvoline has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.650-1.750 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Valvoline will post 1.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Jonathan L. Caldwell sold 2,851 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.00, for a total value of $114,040.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 20,918 shares in the company, valued at $836,720. The trade was a 11.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Richard Joseph Freeland acquired 3,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 14th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $32.37 per share, with a total value of $100,347.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 16,112 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $521,545.44. This trade represents a 23.82% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders purchased 14,100 shares of company stock worth $450,877. 0.66% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VVV. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Valvoline by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,323,516 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $358,121,000 after buying an additional 94,813 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners boosted its position in shares of Valvoline by 20.6% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 6,679,911 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $194,449,000 after acquiring an additional 1,142,290 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in Valvoline by 11.2% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,067,541 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $176,323,000 after acquiring an additional 610,014 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Management Inc. WI grew its stake in Valvoline by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Fiduciary Management Inc. WI now owns 4,972,363 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $144,497,000 after acquiring an additional 220,642 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cooke & Bieler LP increased its holdings in Valvoline by 28.3% in the 4th quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 4,281,095 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $124,409,000 after acquiring an additional 944,095 shares during the last quarter. 96.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Valvoline

Valvoline (NYSE: VVV) is a leading global producer and distributor of automotive and industrial lubricants. The company’s portfolio spans engine oils, gear oils, transmission fluids, greases, coolants and driveline products, all designed to help improve vehicle performance and longevity. Valvoline’s products are marketed under the Valvoline®, Valvoline NextGen® and Valvoline™ SynPower® brand names and are formulated to meet the stringent requirements of passenger cars, light trucks, heavy‐duty vehicles and off‐road applications.

In addition to its core lubricant business, Valvoline operates one of North America’s largest quick‐lubricant service networks through Valvoline Instant Oil Change℠ (VIOC).