Valvoline (NYSE:VVV) Coverage Initiated at Barclays

Key Points

• Barclays initiated coverage on Valvoline with an equal weight rating and a $35 price target, implying only modest upside from the current share price.
• Other analysts remain generally positive on the stock: Valvoline has a Moderate Buy consensus rating and an average target price of $40.93, with several firms recently raising their targets.
• Valvoline’s latest results beat expectations, with EPS of $0.41 versus the $0.35 estimate and revenue up 25% year over year; insiders have also been buying shares recently.

Analysts at Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Valvoline (NYSE:VVV - Get Free Report) in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm set an "equal weight" rating and a $35.00 price target on the basic materials company's stock. Barclays's price objective points to a potential upside of 1.17% from the stock's current price.

A number of other equities analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Stephens upped their target price on Valvoline from $38.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Valvoline from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Valvoline from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, February 7th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Valvoline from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Mizuho set a $40.00 price objective on Valvoline in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Valvoline currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $40.93.

Valvoline Price Performance

Shares of VVV opened at $34.60 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.39 and a beta of 1.03. Valvoline has a fifty-two week low of $28.50 and a fifty-two week high of $41.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.61, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.61. The business's 50-day moving average is $33.55 and its 200-day moving average is $33.19.

Valvoline (NYSE:VVV - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The basic materials company reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $503.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $495.67 million. Valvoline had a return on equity of 66.54% and a net margin of 5.03%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 25.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.34 EPS. Valvoline has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.650-1.750 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Valvoline will post 1.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Jennifer Lynn Slater bought 1,000 shares of Valvoline stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $32.53 per share, with a total value of $32,530.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 1,000 shares in the company, valued at $32,530. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Richard Joseph Freeland bought 3,100 shares of Valvoline stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $32.37 per share, with a total value of $100,347.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 16,112 shares of the company's stock, valued at $521,545.44. This trade represents a 23.82% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders acquired 14,100 shares of company stock valued at $450,877. 0.66% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Valvoline

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in VVV. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Valvoline by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,323,516 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $358,121,000 after purchasing an additional 94,813 shares during the period. Boston Partners increased its position in Valvoline by 20.6% in the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 6,679,911 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $194,449,000 after purchasing an additional 1,142,290 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Valvoline by 11.2% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,067,541 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $176,323,000 after purchasing an additional 610,014 shares during the period. Fiduciary Management Inc. WI increased its position in Valvoline by 4.6% in 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 purchasing an additional 220,642 shares during the period. Finally, Cooke & Bieler LP increased its position in Valvoline by 28.3% in the fourth quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 4,281,095 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $124,409,000 after purchasing an additional 944,095 shares during the period. 96.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Valvoline

Valvoline NYSE: VVV is a leading global producer and distributor of automotive and industrial lubricants. The company's portfolio spans engine oils, gear oils, transmission fluids, greases, coolants and driveline products, all designed to help improve vehicle performance and longevity. Valvoline's products are marketed under the Valvoline®, Valvoline NextGen® and Valvoline™ SynPower® brand names and are formulated to meet the stringent requirements of passenger cars, light trucks, heavy‐duty vehicles and off‐road applications.

In addition to its core lubricant business, Valvoline operates one of North America's largest quick‐lubricant service networks through Valvoline Instant Oil Change℠ (VIOC).

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