Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. Invests $5.86 Million in Valvoline $VVV

Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Valvoline (NYSE:VVV) in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 148,200 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,860,000. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. owned 0.12% of Valvoline at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Alpine Woods Capital Investors LLC grew its stake in Valvoline by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Alpine Woods Capital Investors LLC now owns 10,866 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $316,000 after acquiring an additional 267 shares during the last quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC raised its position in Valvoline by 1.0% during the second quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 28,510 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,080,000 after acquiring an additional 277 shares during the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Valvoline by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 7,912 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $230,000 after purchasing an additional 319 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in shares of Valvoline by 20.3% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,906 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 321 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SummitTX Capital L.P. grew its position in shares of Valvoline by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. SummitTX Capital L.P. now owns 9,008 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $262,000 after purchasing an additional 326 shares during the last quarter. 96.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on VVV. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Valvoline from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $35.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on Valvoline from $47.00 to $46.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $44.00 price objective on shares of Valvoline in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Benchmark initiated coverage on Valvoline in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $48.00 price objective for the company. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $45.00 target price on shares of Valvoline in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $42.88.

Valvoline Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:VVV opened at $32.94 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $4.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.18 and a beta of 1.00. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $37.49 and a 200-day simple moving average of $35.87. Valvoline has a 52 week low of $28.50 and a 52 week high of $41.33. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.77.

Valvoline (NYSE:VVV) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The basic materials company reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.07. Valvoline had a return on equity of 65.12% and a net margin of 5.17%.The firm had revenue of $544.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $543.21 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.47 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Valvoline has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.700-1.750 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Valvoline will post 1.76 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Jordan M. Denny bought 1,506 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $33.20 per share, for a total transaction of $49,999.20. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief accounting officer owned 4,121 shares in the company, valued at $136,817.20. This trade represents a 57.59% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Julie Marie O’daniel sold 3,700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.81, for a total transaction of $125,097.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 14,279 shares in the company, valued at approximately $482,772.99. This represents a 20.58% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 0.66% of the company’s stock.

Valvoline Company Profile

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).