Valvoline (NYSE:VVV) Rating Lowered to “Hold” at Zacks Research

Valvoline (NYSE:VVV) was downgraded by equities researchers at Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

VVV has been the topic of a number of other reports. Benchmark initiated coverage on shares of Valvoline in a report on Wednesday. They set a “buy” rating and a $48.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their target price on Valvoline from $47.00 to $46.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Valvoline from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Valvoline from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $44.00 price objective on shares of Valvoline in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Valvoline currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $42.88.

Valvoline Stock Down 0.5%

VVV stock opened at $33.94 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $37.76 and a 200 day moving average of $35.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.33 billion, a PE ratio of 42.42 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.77. Valvoline has a 52 week low of $28.50 and a 52 week high of $41.33.

Valvoline (NYSE:VVV) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The basic materials company reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $544.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $543.21 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.47 EPS. Valvoline’s revenue was up 24.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Valvoline has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.700-1.750 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Valvoline will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Valvoline news, insider Jonathan L. Caldwell sold 2,851 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.00, for a total value of $114,040.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 20,918 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $836,720. This represents a 11.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CAO Jordan M. Denny purchased 1,506 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 12th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $33.20 per share, for a total transaction of $49,999.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 4,121 shares in the company, valued at $136,817.20. This trade represents a 57.59% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.66% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Two Sigma Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Valvoline in the second quarter worth about $318,000. Mcmorgan & Co. LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Valvoline during the 2nd quarter worth about $223,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in shares of Valvoline by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 395,993 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $15,658,000 after acquiring an additional 8,198 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its position in shares of Valvoline by 154.0% during the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 17,265 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $682,000 after acquiring an additional 10,468 shares during the period. Finally, Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Valvoline in the 2nd quarter valued at about $381,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.13% of the company’s stock.

Valvoline Company Profile

Valvoline (NYSE: VVV) is a leading global producer and distributor of automotive and industrial lubricants. The company’s portfolio spans engine oils, gear oils, transmission fluids, greases, coolants and driveline products, all designed to help improve vehicle performance and longevity. Valvoline’s products are marketed under the Valvoline®, Valvoline NextGen® and Valvoline™ SynPower® brand names and are formulated to meet the stringent requirements of passenger cars, light trucks, heavy‐duty vehicles and off‐road applications.

In addition to its core lubricant business, Valvoline operates one of North America’s largest quick‐lubricant service networks through Valvoline Instant Oil Change℠ (VIOC).