Maverick Capital Ltd. Takes $1.80 Million Position in Valvoline Inc. (NYSE:VVV)

Maverick Capital Ltd. purchased a new position in Valvoline Inc. (NYSE:VVV) during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund purchased 41,612 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,798,000.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Valvoline by 19,218.1% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,735,549 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $140,382,000 after purchasing an additional 3,716,212 shares in the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA acquired a new stake in Valvoline in the fourth quarter valued at $123,526,000. Wasatch Advisors LP boosted its stake in Valvoline by 25.1% during the 1st quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 8,507,925 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $379,198,000 after acquiring an additional 1,706,190 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Management Inc. WI boosted its stake in Valvoline by 55.0% during the 4th quarter. Fiduciary Management Inc. WI now owns 3,055,520 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $114,826,000 after acquiring an additional 1,083,722 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Junto Capital Management LP grew its holdings in Valvoline by 41.1% during the 4th quarter. Junto Capital Management LP now owns 2,488,435 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $93,515,000 after acquiring an additional 724,967 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.13% of the company’s stock.

Valvoline Price Performance

Shares of VVV opened at $41.83 on Friday. Valvoline Inc. has a 12 month low of $29.15 and a 12 month high of $48.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.57, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.62. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $41.94 and a 200 day moving average price of $42.44. The company has a market cap of $5.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.20 and a beta of 1.45.

Valvoline (NYSE:VVV) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The basic materials company reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.48 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $421.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $425.17 million. Valvoline had a return on equity of 182.88% and a net margin of 10.45%. The firm’s revenue was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.43 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Valvoline Inc. will post 1.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Valvoline announced that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Tuesday, July 30th that allows the company to buyback $400.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the basic materials company to reacquire up to 7.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on VVV. Baird R W raised shares of Valvoline to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Valvoline from $50.00 to $46.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on Valvoline from $54.00 to $48.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Valvoline from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Piper Sandler began coverage on shares of Valvoline in a research note on Wednesday, June 12th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $49.00 target price for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $47.57.

Valvoline Company Profile

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.