Raymond James & Associates Acquires 19,091 Shares of Valvoline Inc. (NYSE:VVV)

Raymond James & Associates raised its stake in shares of Valvoline Inc. (NYSE:VVV) by 10.6% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 199,152 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 19,091 shares during the quarter. Raymond James & Associates’ holdings in Valvoline were worth $8,335,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of Valvoline by 83.0% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,332 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $58,000 after acquiring an additional 604 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC grew its holdings in Valvoline by 17.9% during the third quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 10,969 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $459,000 after purchasing an additional 1,664 shares during the last quarter. Capital Insight Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Valvoline by 2.9% in the third quarter. Capital Insight Partners LLC now owns 89,853 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,760,000 after purchasing an additional 2,542 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in shares of Valvoline by 92.1% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 630 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 302 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Park Place Capital Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Valvoline by 29.3% during the 3rd quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 1,608 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $67,000 after buying an additional 364 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.13% of the company’s stock.

Valvoline Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE VVV opened at $41.62 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.03 and a beta of 1.45. Valvoline Inc. has a one year low of $29.15 and a one year high of $48.26. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $41.22 and a 200 day simple moving average of $42.03. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.57.

Valvoline (NYSE:VVV) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The basic materials company reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by ($0.03). Valvoline had a net margin of 10.45% and a return on equity of 182.88%. The business had revenue of $421.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $425.17 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.43 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Valvoline Inc. will post 1.53 EPS for the current year.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Valvoline from $54.00 to $48.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Valvoline from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered 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. Baird R W upgraded Valvoline to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, Robert W. Baird assumed coverage on Valvoline in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $48.00 price objective for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Valvoline has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $47.75.

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.