Olympiad Research LP Invests $468,000 in Valvoline Inc. (NYSE:VVV)

Olympiad Research LP bought a new stake in shares of Valvoline Inc. (NYSE:VVV) in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 11,181 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $468,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sculptor Capital LP grew its position in shares of Valvoline by 187.6% during the 2nd quarter. Sculptor Capital LP now owns 1,879,500 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $81,194,000 after acquiring an additional 1,226,000 shares during the period. F M Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Valvoline during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $11,992,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Valvoline during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $9,974,000. Tyro Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Valvoline during the first quarter worth about $9,627,000. Finally, Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Valvoline during the first quarter worth approximately $9,080,000. 96.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on VVV shares. Citigroup upped their price target on Valvoline from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Robert W. Baird started coverage on Valvoline in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $48.00 price target on the stock. Stephens assumed coverage on Valvoline in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $49.00 target price on the stock. Baird R W raised Valvoline to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Valvoline from $50.00 to $46.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Valvoline presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $47.75.

Valvoline Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of VVV opened at $43.51 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $41.13 and a two-hundred day moving average of $42.01. 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 capitalization of $5.61 billion, a PE ratio of 34.89 and a beta of 1.46. Valvoline Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $29.15 and a fifty-two week high of $48.26.

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

Valvoline announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, July 30th that allows the company to buyback $400.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the basic materials company to buy up to 7.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Valvoline 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.