Olympiad Research LP Makes New Investment in Valvoline Inc. (NYSE:VVV)

Olympiad Research LP bought a new position in Valvoline Inc. (NYSE:VVV) in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund bought 11,181 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $468,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Congress Asset Management Co. grew its position in Valvoline by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 3,656,672 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $153,032,000 after purchasing an additional 100,305 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Valvoline by 3.6% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,720,748 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $117,534,000 after purchasing an additional 94,673 shares during the last quarter. Sculptor Capital LP grew its position in Valvoline by 187.6% in the 2nd quarter. Sculptor Capital LP now owns 1,879,500 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $81,194,000 after purchasing an additional 1,226,000 shares during the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. grew its position in Valvoline by 6.4% in the 2nd quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 1,130,920 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $48,857,000 after purchasing an additional 68,340 shares during the last quarter. Finally, D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Valvoline by 30.1% in the second quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 828,403 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $35,787,000 after acquiring an additional 191,504 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.13% of the company’s stock.

Valvoline Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE:VVV opened at $43.51 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.57, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.73. The company has a market cap of $5.61 billion, a PE ratio of 34.89 and a beta of 1.46. Valvoline Inc. has a 52 week low of $29.15 and a 52 week high of $48.26. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $41.13 and a 200 day simple moving average of $42.01.

Valvoline (NYSE:VVV) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The basic materials company reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.48 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $421.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $425.17 million. Valvoline had a net margin of 10.45% and a return on equity of 182.88%. The firm’s revenue was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.43 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Valvoline Inc. will post 1.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Valvoline announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, July 30th that permits the company to repurchase $400.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the basic materials company to reacquire up to 7.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird assumed coverage on shares of Valvoline in a report on Thursday, August 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $48.00 price objective for the company. Stephens initiated coverage on shares of Valvoline in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $49.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Valvoline from $50.00 to $46.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Valvoline from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Valvoline from $54.00 to $48.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Valvoline currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $47.75.

About Valvoline

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.