Charter Oak Advisors LP Takes $11.70 Million Position in Valvoline Inc. (NYSE:VVV)

Charter Oak Advisors LP acquired a new position in shares of Valvoline Inc. (NYSE:VVV) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm acquired 323,458 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,703,000. Valvoline accounts for about 6.7% of Charter Oak Advisors LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest holding.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VVV. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Valvoline during the 4th quarter worth approximately $54,114,000. Wasatch Advisors LP grew its stake in Valvoline by 11.1% during the 4th quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 10,818,256 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $391,405,000 after buying an additional 1,080,114 shares during the last quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC increased its position in Valvoline by 766.6% in the fourth quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC now owns 644,980 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $23,335,000 after buying an additional 570,550 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new stake in Valvoline in the fourth quarter valued at $17,340,000. Finally, Geneva Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Valvoline by 56.3% during the fourth quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC now owns 1,220,453 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $44,156,000 after acquiring an additional 439,809 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.13% of the company’s stock.

Valvoline Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of Valvoline stock opened at $34.02 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $35.86 and a 200-day simple moving average of $37.88. Valvoline Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $31.02 and a fifty-two week high of $48.27. The firm has a market cap of $4.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.28 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.39.

Valvoline (NYSE:VVV) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.31 by $0.01. Valvoline had a net margin of 16.34% and a return on equity of 143.64%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Valvoline Inc. will post 1.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Valvoline

In related news, insider Julie Marie O’daniel sold 6,000 shares of Valvoline stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.41, for a total value of $224,460.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 15,305 shares in the company, valued at $572,560.05. The trade was a 28.16 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.66% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. TD Securities started coverage on shares of Valvoline in a report on Friday, April 4th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $40.00 price objective on the stock. Mizuho dropped their price target on shares of Valvoline from $46.00 to $42.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $38.00 price objective (down from $42.00) on shares of Valvoline in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Valvoline from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Valvoline from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.67.

Valvoline Company 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.