New York State Common Retirement Fund reduced its position in Valvoline Inc. (NYSE:VVV – Get Rating) by 0.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 449,877 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 1,292 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned about 0.25% of Valvoline worth $14,198,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sageworth Trust Co of South Dakota purchased a new position in Valvoline in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. IronBridge Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Valvoline during the 4th quarter valued at $44,000. Missouri Trust & Investment Co purchased a new stake in Valvoline during the 4th quarter valued at $63,000. Covestor Ltd purchased a new stake in Valvoline during the 4th quarter valued at $70,000. Finally, MUFG Americas Holdings Corp raised its stake in Valvoline by 623.5% during the 4th quarter. MUFG Americas Holdings Corp now owns 2,402 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $90,000 after buying an additional 2,070 shares during the last quarter. 91.04% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
A number of brokerages have weighed in on VVV. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Valvoline from $35.00 to $37.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on shares of Valvoline from $44.00 to $40.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 16th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Valvoline from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Valvoline from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $30.00 to $36.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 12th. They noted that the move was a valuation call. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $38.67.
Valvoline Trading Up 1.1 %
Shares of Valvoline stock opened at $28.68 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.95 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.24, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.74. The company has a fifty day moving average of $30.66 and a 200 day moving average of $31.09. Valvoline Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $26.69 and a fifty-two week high of $37.97.
Valvoline (NYSE:VVV – Get Rating) last issued its earnings results on Monday, May 9th. The basic materials company reported $0.48 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.48. The company had revenue of $886.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $887.10 million. Valvoline had a net margin of 12.30% and a return on equity of 220.52%. Valvoline’s quarterly revenue was up 26.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.46 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Valvoline Inc. will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Valvoline Announces Dividend
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 31st will be issued a $0.125 dividend. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 30th. Valvoline’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.83%.
Valvoline Company Profile
Valvoline Inc manufactures, markets, and supplies, engine and automotive maintenance products and services. It operates through two segments, Retail Services and Global Products. The company offers lubricants for passenger car, light duty, and heavy duty; antifreeze/coolants for original equipment manufacturers; functional and maintenance chemicals, such as brake fluids and power steering fluids, as well as specialty coatings for automotive and industrial applications; and oil and air filters for light-duty vehicles.
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