JPMorgan Chase & Co. Issues Positive Forecast for Valvoline (NYSE:VVV) Stock Price

Valvoline (NYSE:VVV) had its price objective increased by analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $37.00 to $38.00 in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “neutral” rating on the basic materials company’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price target points to a potential downside of 4.52% from the company’s current price.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on VVV. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $38.00 target price (down previously from $42.00) on shares of Valvoline in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on Valvoline from $48.00 to $46.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Valvoline from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Valvoline from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Mizuho lowered their price objective on Valvoline from $46.00 to $42.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $44.40.

Valvoline Price Performance

Valvoline stock traded up $0.17 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $39.80. 181,558 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,630,525. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.39, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.70. Valvoline has a 52-week low of $33.90 and a 52-week high of $48.26. The company has a market cap of $5.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.04 and a beta of 1.45. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $37.05 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $39.76.

Valvoline (NYSE:VVV) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.31 by $0.01. Valvoline had a net margin of 16.34% and a return on equity of 143.64%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Valvoline will post 1.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Lori Ann Flees bought 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $39.64 per share, for a total transaction of $99,100.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 38,428 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,523,285.92. The trade was a 6.96 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CTO Robert Travis Dobbins sold 1,914 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.00, for a total transaction of $76,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer now owns 14,956 shares in the company, valued at $598,240. This represents a 11.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.66% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Valvoline by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,893,648 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $466,492,000 after buying an additional 101,834 shares in the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Valvoline by 16.8% during the third quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 9,738,142 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $407,541,000 after acquiring an additional 1,398,310 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Valvoline by 0.4% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,096,436 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $171,436,000 after acquiring an additional 16,916 shares in the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Valvoline by 2.8% in the third quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 3,656,672 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $153,032,000 after purchasing an additional 100,305 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Valvoline by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,226,769 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $93,215,000 after purchasing an additional 54,545 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.13% of the company’s stock.

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.