Valvoline (NYSE:VVV) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Valvoline (NYSE:VVV) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Saturday morning.

VVV has been the subject of several other research reports. Stephens upped their target price on shares of Valvoline from $38.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Valvoline in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $40.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Valvoline from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Truist Financial set a $38.00 price target on Valvoline in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Finally, TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Valvoline in a report on Monday, January 26th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $39.94.

Valvoline Price Performance

Shares of VVV opened at $37.00 on Friday. Valvoline has a 12 month low of $28.50 and a 12 month high of $41.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.31, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.57. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $31.51 and a 200 day moving average price of $34.27. The company has a market cap of $4.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.22 and a beta of 1.19.

Valvoline (NYSE:VVV) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The basic materials company reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $461.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $466.87 million. Valvoline had a net margin of 4.91% and a return on equity of 69.71%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.32 earnings per share. Valvoline has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.600-1.700 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Valvoline will post 1.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Valvoline

In other news, CEO Lori Ann Flees bought 4,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 24th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $30.82 per share, with a total value of $138,690.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 69,267 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,134,808.94. This represents a 6.95% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Julie Marie O’daniel sold 3,200 shares of Valvoline stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.88, for a total value of $102,016.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 17,251 shares in the company, valued at approximately $549,961.88. The trade was a 15.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 0.66% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Valvoline

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VVV. Cooke & Bieler LP purchased a new stake in shares of Valvoline during the second quarter valued at $110,501,000. Boston Partners increased its stake in Valvoline by 67.3% in the 2nd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,977,293 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $150,604,000 after purchasing an additional 1,599,973 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Valvoline during the 2nd quarter worth about $57,739,000. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. lifted its stake in Valvoline by 118.8% during the second quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 2,678,878 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $101,449,000 after buying an additional 1,454,458 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Channing Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Valvoline by 189.8% during the second quarter. Channing Capital Management LLC now owns 2,163,631 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $81,937,000 after buying an additional 1,417,156 shares in the last quarter. 96.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Valvoline Company Profile

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).