IFP Advisors Inc Acquires 565 Shares of Valvoline (NYSE:VVV)

IFP Advisors Inc grew its holdings in Valvoline (NYSE:VVV) by 24.9% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 2,832 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 565 shares during the quarter. IFP Advisors Inc’s holdings in Valvoline were worth $100,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Valvoline by 101.5% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,170 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $76,000 after acquiring an additional 1,093 shares during the period. Yousif Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Valvoline by 1.7% in the first quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 46,208 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,608,000 after acquiring an additional 794 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Valvoline in the first quarter worth $496,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in shares of Valvoline by 145.4% in the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,531 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 907 shares during the period. Finally, OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Valvoline in the first quarter worth $248,000. Institutional investors own 96.13% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Valvoline

In other Valvoline news, CEO Lori Ann Flees acquired 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $33.78 per share, for a total transaction of $101,340.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 46,614 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,574,620.92. The trade was a 6.88% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.66% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on VVV shares. TD Cowen started coverage on Valvoline in a report on Friday, April 4th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $40.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Valvoline from $44.00 to $42.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 28th. Citigroup cut their price target on Valvoline from $41.00 to $38.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Stephens boosted their price target on Valvoline from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Valvoline from $41.00 to $39.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 9th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Valvoline presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $42.15.

Valvoline Price Performance

Shares of Valvoline stock opened at $35.75 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $36.64 and its 200-day simple moving average is $35.98. Valvoline has a 52 week low of $31.01 and a 52 week high of $47.08. The company has a market capitalization of $4.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.35 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.23.

Valvoline (NYSE:VVV) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The basic materials company reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.36 by ($0.02). Valvoline had a net margin of 15.97% and a return on equity of 106.36%. The business had revenue of $403.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $405.38 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.37 earnings per share. Valvoline’s revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Valvoline will post 1.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valvoline 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.