Trexquant Investment LP Acquires 20,823 Shares of Valvoline Inc. (NYSE:VVV)

Trexquant Investment LP raised its holdings in Valvoline Inc. (NYSE:VVV) by 15.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 154,630 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 20,823 shares during the quarter. Trexquant Investment LP owned approximately 0.12% of Valvoline worth $5,595,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Valvoline during the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. ORG Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Valvoline by 466.7% during the fourth quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 1,275 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 1,050 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in Valvoline in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $73,000. Atala Financial Inc bought a new position in Valvoline in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $77,000. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in Valvoline in the third quarter valued at approximately $97,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.13% of the company’s stock.

Valvoline Stock Performance

VVV opened at $34.57 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.39, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.58. The company has a market capitalization of $4.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.54 and a beta of 1.32. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $36.64 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $38.41. Valvoline Inc. has a 1 year low of $32.99 and a 1 year high of $48.27.

Valvoline (NYSE:VVV) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.31 by $0.01. Valvoline had a return on equity of 143.64% and a net margin of 16.34%. Equities analysts expect that Valvoline Inc. will post 1.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VVV has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Mizuho cut their price target on Valvoline from $46.00 to $42.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Valvoline from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Stifel Nicolaus assumed coverage on Valvoline in a research report on Friday, December 20th. They set a “hold” rating and a $42.00 target price for the company. TD Securities initiated coverage on shares of Valvoline in a research note on Friday. They set a “buy” rating and a $40.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, TD Cowen began coverage on shares of Valvoline in a research note on Friday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $40.00 target price for the company. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Julie Marie O’daniel sold 6,000 shares of Valvoline stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.41, for a total value of $224,460.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 15,305 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $572,560.05. The trade was a 28.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.66% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.