Valvoline (NYSE:VVV) Stock Jumps 4.3% - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• Valvoline shares rose 4.3% to about $29.70 in midday trading, though volume was 88% below the average session level.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating from 17 analysts and an average price target of $43.06, well above the trading price.
• The company beat quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $0.57 EPS versus $0.50 expected and 24.1% year-over-year revenue growth; however, its balance sheet shows elevated leverage with a 3.77 debt-to-equity ratio.

Valvoline (NYSE:VVV - Get Free Report) rose 4.3% during mid-day trading on Tuesday. The stock traded as high as $29.87 and last traded at $29.6990. 250,768 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 88% from the average session volume of 2,147,359 shares. The stock had previously closed at $28.48.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Benchmark started coverage on shares of Valvoline in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. They set a "buy" rating and a $48.00 price objective on the stock. Zacks Research lowered shares of Valvoline from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Valvoline from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Valvoline from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, New Street Research set a $47.00 price target on shares of Valvoline in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Valvoline has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $43.06.

Valvoline Stock Up 2.9%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.77, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.58. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $33.21 and a 200 day moving average price of $34.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.58 and a beta of 0.99.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Jordan M. Denny acquired 1,506 shares of Valvoline stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 12th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $33.20 per share, with a total value of $49,999.20. Following the acquisition, the chief accounting officer owned 4,121 shares in the company, valued at $136,817.20. This represents a 57.59% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Julie O'Daniel sold 3,700 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.81, for a total value of $125,097.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 14,279 shares in the company, valued at approximately $482,772.99. This represents a 20.58% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.66% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Valvoline

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of VVV. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Valvoline in the 2nd quarter valued at $501,851,000. Fiduciary Management Inc. WI increased its position in shares of Valvoline by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Fiduciary Management Inc. WI now owns 4,972,363 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $144,497,000 after acquiring an additional 220,642 shares in the last quarter. Eminence Capital LP acquired a new position in shares of Valvoline during the fourth quarter worth about $122,409,000. Hawk Ridge Capital Management LP lifted its stake in Valvoline by 15.0% in the 1st quarter. Hawk Ridge Capital Management LP now owns 3,147,810 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $106,018,000 after acquiring an additional 409,565 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Valvoline by 0.5% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,973,851 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $100,156,000 after purchasing an additional 15,462 shares during the last quarter. 96.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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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