Valvoline (NYSE:VVV) Cut to Underweight at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of Valvoline (NYSE:VVV) from a neutral rating to an underweight rating in a research note released on Thursday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has $35.00 price objective on the basic materials company’s stock, up from their previous price objective of $30.00.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on the company. Roth Mkm restated a “buy” rating and set a $44.00 price target on shares of Valvoline in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Zacks Research raised Valvoline from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 19th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on Valvoline from $44.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Valvoline from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Valvoline in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $40.25.

Valvoline Price Performance

VVV opened at $38.52 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.49 and a beta of 1.19. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $32.14 and a 200-day moving average of $34.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.31. Valvoline has a 12-month low of $28.50 and a 12-month high of $41.33.

Valvoline (NYSE:VVV) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The basic materials company reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.03. Valvoline had a return on equity of 69.71% and a net margin of 4.91%.The company had revenue of $461.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $466.87 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.32 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.5% on a year-over-year basis. Valvoline has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.600-1.700 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Valvoline will post 1.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Valvoline news, insider Julie Marie O’daniel sold 3,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.88, for a total transaction of $102,016.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 17,251 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $549,961.88. The trade was a 15.65% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Lori Ann Flees bought 4,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 24th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $30.82 per share, with a total value of $138,690.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 69,267 shares in the company, valued at $2,134,808.94. The trade was a 6.95% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 0.66% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in shares of Valvoline by 298.5% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 253,447 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $8,822,000 after purchasing an additional 189,842 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in Valvoline by 4.6% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 858,584 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $29,887,000 after buying an additional 37,657 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its stake in Valvoline by 4.5% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 487,609 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $16,974,000 after buying an additional 20,947 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its holdings in Valvoline by 15.7% in the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 124,071 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $4,319,000 after buying an additional 16,865 shares during the period. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS boosted its position in Valvoline by 5.8% during the second quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS now owns 25,500 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $966,000 after acquiring an additional 1,400 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.13% of the company’s stock.

About Valvoline

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).