Short Interest in Valvoline Inc. (NYSE:VVV) Drops By 18.8%

Valvoline Inc. (NYSE:VVV - Get Free Report) was the target of a large decrease in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 6,280,000 shares, a decrease of 18.8% from the March 15th total of 7,730,000 shares. Approximately 4.9% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,200,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 5.2 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on VVV shares. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Valvoline from $36.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Valvoline from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $37.00 to $44.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. Mizuho assumed coverage on shares of Valvoline in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. They set a "buy" rating and a $50.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Valvoline from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $42.75.

Institutional Trading of Valvoline

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Park Place Capital Corp acquired a new stake in Valvoline during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Belpointe Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Valvoline by 54.9% during the first quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 931 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 330 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new stake in Valvoline during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. First Manhattan CO. LLC. acquired a new stake in Valvoline during the first quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in Valvoline during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. 96.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Valvoline Stock Performance

Valvoline stock traded down $1.06 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $41.75. 876,057 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,021,972. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $42.36 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $37.05. The firm has a market cap of $5.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.19 and a beta of 1.44. Valvoline has a fifty-two week low of $29.15 and a fifty-two week high of $45.37. The company has a current ratio of 2.24, a quick ratio of 2.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 24.02.

Valvoline (NYSE:VVV - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.29. The company had revenue of $373.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $380.10 million. Valvoline had a net margin of 92.04% and a return on equity of 41.83%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.16 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Valvoline will post 1.6 earnings per share for the current 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.