Richard Joseph Freeland Buys 3,100 Shares of Valvoline (NYSE:VVV) Stock

Valvoline (NYSE:VVV) Director Richard Joseph Freeland acquired 3,100 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 14th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $32.37 per share, with a total value of $100,347.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 16,112 shares in the company, valued at $521,545.44. This represents a 23.82% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Valvoline Stock Up 2.0%

NYSE VVV traded up $0.65 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $33.03. 610,443 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,083,505. Valvoline has a 1-year low of $28.50 and a 1-year high of $41.33. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $33.84 and a 200-day simple moving average of $33.14. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.61. The company has a market cap of $4.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.26 and a beta of 1.03.

Valvoline (NYSE:VVV) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The basic materials company reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.06. Valvoline had a return on equity of 66.54% and a net margin of 5.03%.The company had revenue of $503.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $495.67 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.34 EPS. Valvoline’s quarterly revenue was up 25.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Valvoline has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.650-1.750 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Valvoline will post 1.74 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Valvoline from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $30.00 to $35.00 in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Mizuho set a $40.00 target price on Valvoline in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Zacks Research raised Valvoline from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 19th. Truist Financial set a $38.00 price target on Valvoline in a report on Monday, January 26th. Finally, TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Valvoline in a report on Monday, January 26th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Valvoline presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $41.36.

Institutional Trading of Valvoline

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in VVV. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Valvoline by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,323,516 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $358,121,000 after acquiring an additional 94,813 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners raised its stake in Valvoline by 20.6% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 6,679,911 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $194,449,000 after acquiring an additional 1,142,290 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Valvoline by 11.2% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,067,541 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $176,323,000 after acquiring an additional 610,014 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Management Inc. WI raised its stake in Valvoline by 4.6% during 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 acquiring an additional 220,642 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cooke & Bieler LP raised its stake in Valvoline by 28.3% during the 4th quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 4,281,095 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $124,409,000 after acquiring an additional 944,095 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.13% of the company’s stock.

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).