Short Interest in Valvoline Inc. (NYSE:VVV) Drops By 17.2%

Valvoline Inc. (NYSE:VVV) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest in April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 5,200,000 shares, a decrease of 17.2% from the March 31st total of 6,280,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,180,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.4 days. Approximately 4.0% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Valvoline

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Park Place Capital Corp purchased a new position in Valvoline during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new position in Valvoline during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new position in Valvoline during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. CWM LLC increased its holdings in Valvoline by 127.1% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,465 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 820 shares during the period. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Valvoline during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $57,000. 96.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Valvoline Stock Performance

Valvoline stock opened at $42.86 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 24.02, a current ratio of 2.24 and a quick ratio of 2.14. Valvoline has a 1-year low of $29.15 and a 1-year high of $45.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.32 and a beta of 1.44. The company’s 50-day moving average is $42.97 and its 200 day moving average is $37.76.

Valvoline (NYSE:VVV) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29. The business 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 company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.16 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Valvoline will post 1.61 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on VVV. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Valvoline from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Valvoline from $36.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Valvoline from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $37.00 to $44.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. Finally, Mizuho started coverage on shares of Valvoline in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price target for the company. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $42.75.

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.