Valvoline Inc. (NYSE:VVV) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

Valvoline Inc. (NYSE:VVV) was the target of a large decline in short interest in the month of July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totalling 5,330,000 shares, a decline of 22.1% from the July 15th total of 6,840,000 shares. Currently, 4.2% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 1,300,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.1 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on VVV shares. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Valvoline from $54.00 to $48.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Piper Sandler started coverage on shares of Valvoline in a research note on Wednesday, June 12th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $49.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Valvoline from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Baird R W upgraded shares of Valvoline to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Valvoline from $50.00 to $46.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Valvoline has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.25.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Valvoline

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Valvoline by 57.9% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 728 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 267 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Valvoline during the second quarter worth $34,000. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Valvoline during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Mather Group LLC. grew its holdings in shares of Valvoline by 1,617.0% during the second quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 807 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 760 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Valvoline during the fourth quarter worth $39,000. 96.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Valvoline Stock Performance

Shares of VVV traded up $0.03 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $40.91. The stock had a trading volume of 731,894 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,222,865. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average price of $43.17 and a 200 day moving average price of $42.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.47 and a beta of 1.43. Valvoline has a fifty-two week low of $29.15 and a fifty-two week high of $48.26.

Valvoline (NYSE:VVV) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The basic materials company reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $421.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $425.17 million. Valvoline had a return on equity of 182.88% and a net margin of 10.45%. The business’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 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Valvoline will post 1.54 EPS for the current year.

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.