Valvoline (NYSE:VVV) Raised to Strong-Buy at Benchmark

Valvoline (NYSE:VVV - Get Free Report) was upgraded by stock analysts at Benchmark to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

VVV has been the topic of several other reports. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Valvoline from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Zacks Research cut Valvoline from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Valvoline from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $35.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating and set a $44.00 price target on shares of Valvoline in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, New Street Research set a $47.00 price objective on Valvoline in a report on Monday, July 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Valvoline has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $42.88.

Valvoline Price Performance

Shares of VVV stock opened at $33.92 on Wednesday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $4.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.40 and a beta of 1.00. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $37.68 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $35.87. Valvoline has a one year low of $28.50 and a one year high of $41.33.

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

Insider Activity at Valvoline

In other Valvoline news, CAO Jordan M. Denny acquired 1,506 shares of Valvoline stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was bought at an average price of $33.20 per share, with a total value of $49,999.20. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief accounting officer directly owned 4,121 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $136,817.20. This represents a 57.59% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Jonathan L. Caldwell sold 2,851 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.00, for a total value of $114,040.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 20,918 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $836,720. This represents a 11.99% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 0.66% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. William Blair Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Valvoline in the fourth quarter worth about $20,334,000. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. lifted its position in shares of Valvoline by 6.7% during the first quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 2,881,998 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $97,066,000 after buying an additional 182,060 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Valvoline in the 4th quarter valued at about $39,651,000. Fiduciary Management Inc. WI boosted its holdings in shares of Valvoline by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Fiduciary Management Inc. WI now owns 4,972,363 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $144,497,000 after buying an additional 220,642 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp grew its position in shares of Valvoline by 2,154.3% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 34,919 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,176,000 after buying an additional 33,370 shares during the last quarter. 96.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Valvoline Company Profile

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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