Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC Boosts Stock Position in Valvoline Inc. (NYSE:VVV)

Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in Valvoline Inc. (NYSE:VVV) by 3.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 45,781 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,727 shares during the period. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Valvoline were worth $1,720,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Valvoline by 29.1% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,040,237 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $130,257,000 after buying an additional 911,073 shares during the last quarter. Alua Capital Management LP increased its stake in Valvoline by 24.7% in the 3rd quarter. Alua Capital Management LP now owns 2,935,539 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $94,642,000 after acquiring an additional 582,400 shares during the last quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC boosted its holdings in Valvoline by 11.1% during the 3rd quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 2,767,848 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $89,235,000 after acquiring an additional 276,506 shares during the period. Scharf Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Valvoline by 9.0% during the 4th quarter. Scharf Investments LLC now owns 2,655,463 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $99,792,000 after acquiring an additional 218,508 shares during the period. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its holdings in Valvoline by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 1,891,023 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $60,967,000 after buying an additional 107,015 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.13% of the company’s stock.

Valvoline Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of Valvoline stock traded up $0.46 on Wednesday, reaching $42.69. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 342,401 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,161,532. The company has a market capitalization of $5.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.31 and a beta of 1.44. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $42.80 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $37.58. Valvoline Inc. has a 52 week low of $29.15 and a 52 week high of $45.37. The company has a quick ratio of 2.14, a current ratio of 2.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 24.02.

Valvoline (NYSE:VVV) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.29. Valvoline had a return on equity of 41.83% and a net margin of 92.04%. The company had revenue of $373.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $380.10 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.16 earnings per share. Valvoline’s revenue was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Valvoline Inc. will post 1.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VVV has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley upgraded Valvoline from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $37.00 to $44.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. Citigroup raised their target price on Valvoline from $36.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Mizuho began coverage on Valvoline in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $50.00 target price for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Valvoline from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $42.75.

Valvoline 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.