Valvoline $VVV Shares Sold by Squarepoint Ops LLC

Key Points

• Squarepoint Ops LLC cut its Valvoline stake by 79.8% in the second quarter, selling 569,593 shares and retaining 144,260 shares worth approximately $5.7 million.
• Institutional investors own approximately 96.13% of Valvoline, with Royal Bank of Canada, Goldman Sachs, UBS, Jane Street, and Creative Planning among firms increasing their positions.
• Valvoline exceeded quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $0.57 EPS versus the $0.50 consensus and 24.1% year-over-year revenue growth. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $43.06.

Squarepoint Ops LLC lowered its stake in shares of Valvoline (NYSE:VVV - Free Report) by 79.8% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 144,260 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 569,593 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC owned about 0.11% of Valvoline worth $5,704,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in Valvoline by 298.5% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 253,447 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $8,822,000 after acquiring an additional 189,842 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Valvoline by 4.6% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 858,584 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $29,887,000 after acquiring an additional 37,657 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its holdings in Valvoline by 4.5% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 487,609 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $16,974,000 after acquiring an additional 20,947 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC boosted its position in Valvoline by 15.7% in the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 124,071 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $4,319,000 after purchasing an additional 16,865 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Creative Planning boosted its position in Valvoline by 40.1% in the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 8,225 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $311,000 after purchasing an additional 2,353 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.13% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Valvoline news, insider Jonathan L. Caldwell sold 2,851 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.00, for a total transaction of $114,040.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 20,918 shares in the company, valued at approximately $836,720. The trade was a 11.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Julie O'Daniel sold 3,700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.81, for a total value of $125,097.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 14,279 shares of the company's stock, valued at $482,772.99. The trade was a 20.58% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 0.66% of the company's stock.

Valvoline Price Performance

Shares of NYSE VVV opened at $30.59 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.90 billion, a PE ratio of 38.23 and a beta of 0.99. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $35.60 and a 200 day moving average of $35.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.77, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.70. Valvoline has a one year low of $28.50 and a one year high of $41.33.

Valvoline (NYSE:VVV - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The basic materials company reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.50 by $0.07. Valvoline had a net margin of 5.17% and a return on equity of 65.12%. The company had revenue of $544.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $543.21 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.47 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 24.1% on a year-over-year basis. Valvoline has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.700-1.750 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Valvoline will post 1.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on VVV. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Valvoline from $35.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Valvoline from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Valvoline from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating and set a $44.00 target price on shares of Valvoline in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Valvoline from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $35.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $43.06.

About Valvoline

Valvoline Inc NYSE: VVV is an automotive maintenance company focused on quick, convenient vehicle services. Through its company-operated and franchised service centers, the company provides oil changes and other routine maintenance designed to help extend vehicle performance and reliability.

Its services generally include conventional and synthetic oil changes, tire rotations, battery replacement, air-filter and wiper-blade replacement, fluid services, and other preventive maintenance.

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