Alberta Investment Management Corp Makes New $576,000 Investment in Valvoline (NYSE:VVV)

Key Points

• Alberta Investment Management Corp acquired 16,539 shares of Valvoline, representing a new investment valued at approximately $576,000.
• A number of institutional investors, including Mawer Investment Management Ltd. and Fiera Capital Corp, significantly increased their holdings in Valvoline during the first quarter.
• Valvoline reported earnings of $0.34 per share for the most recent quarter, missing analyst estimates, with revenues slightly below expectations as well.

Alberta Investment Management Corp bought a new stake in shares of Valvoline (NYSE:VVV - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund bought 16,539 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $576,000.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. IFP Advisors Inc grew its stake in shares of Valvoline by 24.9% in the 1st quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 2,832 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $100,000 after buying an additional 565 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Valvoline by 101.5% during the 1st 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 last quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Valvoline by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 46,208 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,608,000 after purchasing an additional 794 shares in the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new stake in shares of Valvoline during the first quarter worth $865,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Valvoline during the 1st quarter worth approximately $496,000. 96.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Valvoline from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday. Stephens upped their price objective on shares of Valvoline from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $44.00 target price (down from $45.00) on shares of Valvoline in a report on Friday, May 9th. Cfra Research raised Valvoline to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Valvoline from $41.00 to $39.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $42.31.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Lori Ann Flees acquired 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $33.78 per share, for a total transaction of $101,340.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 46,614 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,574,620.92. This represents a 6.88% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.66% of the company's stock.

Valvoline Stock Performance

Shares of VVV stock traded down $0.13 on Friday, hitting $38.61. The company's stock had a trading volume of 923,518 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,756,824. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.37, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.73. The company has a market capitalization of $4.91 billion, a PE ratio of 17.93 and a beta of 1.17. Valvoline has a fifty-two week low of $31.01 and a fifty-two week high of $43.74. The stock's 50 day moving average is $36.96 and its 200-day moving average is $35.98.

Valvoline (NYSE:VVV - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The basic materials company reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $439.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $436.35 million. Valvoline had a net margin of 16.43% and a return on equity of 84.85%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.45 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Valvoline will post 1.63 earnings per share 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.