Valvoline Inc. (NYSE:VVV) Receives Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Shares of Valvoline Inc. (NYSE:VVV - Get Free Report) have received a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the eleven ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $44.40.

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Mizuho cut their target price on Valvoline from $46.00 to $42.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Valvoline from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on Valvoline from $48.00 to $46.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Valvoline from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $38.00 price objective (down previously from $42.00) on shares of Valvoline in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st.

Insider Buying and Selling at Valvoline

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

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Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Valvoline by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,893,648 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $466,492,000 after acquiring an additional 101,834 shares during the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP boosted its stake in Valvoline by 11.1% during the 4th quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 10,818,256 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $391,405,000 after acquiring an additional 1,080,114 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Management Inc. WI boosted its stake in Valvoline by 35.1% during the 4th 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 last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Valvoline by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,096,436 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $171,436,000 after acquiring an additional 16,916 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Congress Asset Management Co. boosted its stake in Valvoline by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 3,656,672 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $153,032,000 after acquiring an additional 100,305 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.13% of the company's stock.

Valvoline Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:VVV traded up $0.23 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $36.86. 1,229,063 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,617,148. Valvoline has a 1-year low of $33.90 and a 1-year high of $48.26. The company has a market capitalization of $4.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.64 and a beta of 1.45. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $37.03 and its 200-day simple moving average is $39.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.39, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.70.

Valvoline (NYSE:VVV - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.31 by $0.01. Valvoline had a return on equity of 143.64% and a net margin of 16.34%. Sell-side analysts expect that Valvoline will post 1.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Valvoline

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.