Royce & Associates LP Increases Stake in Valvoline $VVV

Royce & Associates LP raised its stake in shares of Valvoline (NYSE:VVV) by 33.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,733,739 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 431,687 shares during the quarter. Royce & Associates LP’s holdings in Valvoline were worth $50,382,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Balefire LLC grew its holdings in Valvoline by 47.4% during the 4th quarter. Balefire LLC now owns 90,798 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,639,000 after buying an additional 29,204 shares in the last quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Valvoline by 3.2% in the third quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC now owns 922,502 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $33,127,000 after purchasing an additional 28,259 shares in the last quarter. Broyhill Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Valvoline in the third quarter valued at $3,616,000. Cooke & Bieler LP grew its holdings in shares of Valvoline by 14.4% in the third quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 3,337,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $119,832,000 after purchasing an additional 419,094 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Valvoline in the third quarter valued at $25,394,000. 96.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Valvoline Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of VVV opened at $33.56 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $4.28 billion, a PE ratio of 45.97 and a beta of 1.03. The business has a fifty day moving average of $33.53 and a 200 day moving average of $33.15. Valvoline has a 52-week low of $28.50 and a 52-week high of $41.33. The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.61.

Valvoline (NYSE:VVV) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The basic materials company reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $503.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $495.67 million. Valvoline had a return on equity of 66.54% and a net margin of 5.03%.Valvoline’s revenue was up 25.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.34 earnings per share. Valvoline has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.650-1.750 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Valvoline will post 1.74 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on VVV shares. Stephens raised their target price on shares of Valvoline from $38.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $44.00 target price (up from $41.00) on shares of Valvoline in a report on Friday, May 8th. Mizuho set a $40.00 target price on shares of Valvoline in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Valvoline from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on Valvoline from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $41.36.

Insider Transactions at Valvoline

In other Valvoline news, CFO J Kevin Willis bought 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 14th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $31.80 per share, for a total transaction of $318,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 32,725 shares in the company, valued at $1,040,655. This trade represents a 44.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Jennifer Lynn Slater bought 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $32.53 per share, with a total value of $32,530.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 1,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $32,530. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders acquired 14,100 shares of company stock worth $450,877. 0.66% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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).