Short Interest in Valvoline Inc. (NYSE:VVV) Drops By 17.2%

Valvoline Inc. (NYSE:VVV) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest in April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 5,200,000 shares, a decrease of 17.2% from the March 31st total of 6,280,000 shares. Approximately 4.0% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 1,180,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.4 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VVV has been the topic of several recent research reports. Mizuho initiated coverage on Valvoline in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup increased their price objective on Valvoline from $36.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Valvoline from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised 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 research note on Tuesday, January 16th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $42.75.

Valvoline Stock Performance

Shares of VVV opened at $42.86 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.24, a quick ratio of 2.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 24.02. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $42.97 and a 200 day moving average of $37.76. Valvoline has a 12 month low of $29.15 and a 12 month high of $45.37. The company has a market capitalization of $5.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.32 and a beta of 1.44.

Valvoline (NYSE:VVV) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29. Valvoline had a return on equity of 41.83% and a net margin of 92.04%. The business had revenue of $373.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $380.10 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.16 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Valvoline will post 1.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Valvoline

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Valvoline in the first quarter worth $106,000. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Valvoline in the first quarter worth $202,000. Leavell Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Valvoline by 16.2% in the first quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,736 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $479,000 after acquiring an additional 1,500 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates boosted its holdings in shares of Valvoline by 21.5% in the first quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 179,682 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $8,008,000 after acquiring an additional 31,814 shares during the period. Finally, Everett Harris & Co. CA boosted its holdings in shares of Valvoline by 3.3% in the first quarter. Everett Harris & Co. CA now owns 110,912 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $4,943,000 after acquiring an additional 3,580 shares during the period. 96.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.