Valvoline $VVV Holdings Cut by Sterling Capital Management LLC

Sterling Capital Management LLC decreased its position in Valvoline (NYSE:VVV) by 95.1% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 2,153 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 41,586 shares during the quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Valvoline were worth $65,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Inspire Investing LLC boosted its stake in Valvoline by 21.6% during the 3rd quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 21,054 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $635,000 after purchasing an additional 3,737 shares during the last quarter. Isthmus Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Valvoline by 3.1% in the third quarter. Isthmus Partners LLC now owns 12,197 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $368,000 after purchasing an additional 361 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Valvoline by 16.5% in the third quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC now owns 8,764 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $264,000 after purchasing an additional 1,240 shares during the last quarter. Diversified Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Valvoline in the third quarter worth $2,331,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Valvoline by 98.0% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,841 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $86,000 after purchasing an additional 1,406 shares in the last quarter. 96.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on Valvoline from $49.00 to $46.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 21st. Stephens boosted their target price on shares of Valvoline from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Valvoline from $41.00 to $34.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 1st. Morgan Stanley reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Valvoline in a research report on Thursday, October 1st. Finally, Benchmark started coverage on Valvoline in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $48.00 price objective on the stock. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Valvoline has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $41.17.

Insider Buying and Selling at Valvoline

In other Valvoline news, CAO Jordan Denny purchased 1,506 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $33.20 per share, for a total transaction of $49,999.20. Following the purchase, the chief accounting officer 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Julie O’Daniel sold 3,700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.81, for a total value of $125,097.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 14,279 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $482,772.99. The trade was a 20.58% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 0.66% of the company’s stock.

Valvoline Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE VVV opened at $33.83 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $30.68 and a 200-day moving average price of $34.36. 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 stock has a market cap of $4.32 billion, a PE ratio of 42.29 and a beta of 1.01. Valvoline has a 1 year low of $26.21 and a 1 year high of $41.08.

Valvoline (NYSE:VVV) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The basic materials company reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.07. Valvoline had a net margin of 5.17% and a return on equity of 65.12%. The firm had revenue of $544.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $543.21 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.47 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 24.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Valvoline will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valvoline announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, September 29th that allows the company to buy back $175 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the basic materials company to repurchase up to 4.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Share buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

About Valvoline

Valvoline Inc (NYSE: VVV) is an automotive maintenance services company that operates and franchises Valvoline Instant Oil Change service centers. Its locations provide preventive vehicle maintenance designed to help drivers keep their cars operating reliably and extend the useful life of key components.

The company’s services include oil changes, fluid replacement and top-offs, battery testing and replacement, air-conditioning services, tire rotation, tire services, and replacement of filters, wiper blades, and other routine maintenance items.