Sciencast Management LP Purchases New Position in Valvoline Inc. (NYSE:VVV)

Sciencast Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Valvoline Inc. (NYSE:VVV) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 6,572 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $238,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of Valvoline by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 35,530 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,285,000 after purchasing an additional 281 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Valvoline by 10.9% in the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 3,548 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $128,000 after purchasing an additional 349 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Valvoline by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 19,215 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $695,000 after purchasing an additional 373 shares during the last quarter. Choreo LLC lifted its stake in shares of Valvoline by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 16,260 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $589,000 after purchasing an additional 396 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Meridian Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Valvoline by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,615 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $276,000 after purchasing an additional 408 shares during the last quarter. 96.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Valvoline

In other news, insider Julie Marie O’daniel sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.41, for a total value of $224,460.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 15,305 shares in the company, valued at $572,560.05. This represents a 28.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.66% of the company’s stock.

Valvoline Trading Down 0.9 %

VVV opened at $35.28 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $36.86 and a 200-day moving average price of $38.72. Valvoline Inc. has a 12 month low of $33.90 and a 12 month high of $48.27. The firm has a market cap of $4.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.88 and a beta of 1.48. The company has a current ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.39.

Valvoline (NYSE:VVV) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.31 by $0.01. Valvoline had a return on equity of 143.64% and a net margin of 16.34%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Valvoline Inc. will post 1.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on VVV. Mizuho lowered their price objective on Valvoline from $46.00 to $42.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Royal Bank of Canada raised 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Valvoline from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Stifel Nicolaus assumed coverage on Valvoline in a research note on Friday, December 20th. They set a “hold” rating and a $42.00 price target for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $38.00 price target (down from $42.00) on shares of Valvoline in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Four research 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $44.40.

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.