D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. Boosts Stake in Valvoline Inc. (NYSE:VVV)

D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Valvoline Inc. (NYSE:VVV) by 30.1% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 828,403 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 191,504 shares during the quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Valvoline were worth $35,787,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. US Bancorp DE boosted its stake in Valvoline by 309.1% during the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 36,332 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,365,000 after buying an additional 27,450 shares during the period. Allianz Asset Management GmbH lifted its holdings in shares of Valvoline by 58.8% in the 4th quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 85,367 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,208,000 after acquiring an additional 31,620 shares during the last quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC boosted its position in shares of Valvoline by 38.3% during the 4th quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC now owns 45,065 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,694,000 after purchasing an additional 12,490 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its holdings in Valvoline by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,288,204 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $48,411,000 after purchasing an additional 62,718 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cladis Investment Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Valvoline in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $206,000. 96.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Robert W. Baird initiated coverage on Valvoline in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $48.00 price target for the company. Citigroup raised their target price on Valvoline from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Baird R W raised Valvoline to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Valvoline from $50.00 to $46.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Piper Sandler started coverage on shares of Valvoline in a research note on Wednesday, June 12th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $49.00 price objective for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $47.57.

Valvoline Stock Performance

Shares of VVV opened at $41.83 on Friday. Valvoline Inc. has a 1 year low of $29.15 and a 1 year high of $48.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.39 billion, a PE ratio of 33.20 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.57, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.73. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $41.94 and a 200-day simple moving average of $42.44.

Valvoline (NYSE:VVV) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The basic materials company reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.48 by ($0.03). Valvoline had a net margin of 10.45% and a return on equity of 182.88%. The firm had revenue of $421.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $425.17 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.43 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Valvoline Inc. will post 1.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valvoline declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, July 30th that permits the company to buyback $400.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the basic materials company to buy up to 7.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.