Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC Purchases 23,364 Shares of Valvoline Inc. (NYSE:VVV)

Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Valvoline Inc. (NYSE:VVV) by 11.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 227,089 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 23,364 shares during the quarter. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC’s holdings in Valvoline were worth $9,810,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in Valvoline by 57.9% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 728 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 267 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in Valvoline in the second quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Mather Group LLC. lifted its position in shares of Valvoline by 1,617.0% in the second quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 807 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 760 shares during the last quarter. Park Place Capital Corp lifted its position in shares of Valvoline by 176.9% in the first quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 1,886 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $84,000 after buying an additional 1,205 shares during the last quarter. Finally, YHB Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Valvoline in the first quarter valued at approximately $106,000. 96.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VVV has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on Valvoline from $54.00 to $48.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Baird R W raised Valvoline to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Valvoline from $50.00 to $46.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Robert W. Baird initiated coverage on Valvoline in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $48.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on Valvoline from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $47.57.

Valvoline Price Performance

Shares of NYSE VVV opened at $41.85 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.39 billion, a PE ratio of 33.21 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.57, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.62. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $41.86 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $42.42. Valvoline Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $29.15 and a fifty-two week high of $48.26.

Valvoline (NYSE:VVV) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 company 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%. Valvoline’s revenue was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.43 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Valvoline Inc. will post 1.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valvoline declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, July 30th that allows the company to repurchase $400.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the basic materials company to buy up to 7.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

About Valvoline

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.