Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. Takes $225,000 Position in Valvoline Inc. (NYSE:VVV)

Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Valvoline Inc. (NYSE:VVV) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 5,974 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $225,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Dupree Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Valvoline during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $338,000. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new stake in shares of Valvoline during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,462,000. Cerity Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Valvoline during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,049,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Valvoline during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $229,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Valvoline during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $57,000. Institutional investors own 96.13% of the company’s stock.

Valvoline Trading Up 0.9 %

Valvoline stock opened at $42.60 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 24.02, a quick ratio of 2.14 and a current ratio of 2.24. The firm has a market cap of $5.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.29 and a beta of 1.44. Valvoline Inc. has a 1 year low of $29.15 and a 1 year high of $45.37. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $42.86 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $37.62.

Valvoline (NYSE:VVV) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.29. The firm had revenue of $373.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $380.10 million. Valvoline had a net margin of 92.04% and a return on equity of 41.83%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.16 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Valvoline Inc. will post 1.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Valvoline from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $37.00 to $44.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Valvoline from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Mizuho assumed coverage on shares of Valvoline in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Valvoline from $36.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy 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 $42.75.

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.