Hosking Partners LLP Boosts Stock Holdings in Valaris Limited (NYSE:VAL)

Hosking Partners LLP increased its position in Valaris Limited (NYSE:VAL) by 33.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 341,842 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 85,891 shares during the period. Hosking Partners LLP owned about 0.48% of Valaris worth $15,123,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of Valaris in the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in Valaris by 41.0% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,758 shares of the company’s stock worth $78,000 after buying an additional 511 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its position in Valaris by 63.3% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,929 shares of the company’s stock worth $130,000 after buying an additional 1,135 shares during the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management raised its position in Valaris by 24.3% in the 4th quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 4,206 shares of the company’s stock worth $186,000 after buying an additional 821 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA bought a new position in Valaris during the 4th quarter valued at about $243,000. 96.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Valaris Price Performance

NYSE VAL opened at $36.59 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $45.12 and its 200 day moving average is $49.99. Valaris Limited has a fifty-two week low of $36.55 and a fifty-two week high of $84.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a current ratio of 1.59. The company has a market capitalization of $2.60 billion, a PE ratio of 7.12 and a beta of 1.10.

Valaris (NYSE:VAL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $1.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.68. The firm had revenue of $584.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $578.01 million. Valaris had a return on equity of 17.40% and a net margin of 15.81%. Sell-side analysts predict that Valaris Limited will post 3.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on VAL. Susquehanna reduced their price target on shares of Valaris from $50.00 to $47.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 21st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Valaris to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Evercore ISI downgraded Valaris from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $87.00 to $59.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Barclays cut their price objective on Valaris from $49.00 to $46.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on Valaris from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $55.00.

About Valaris

Valaris Limited, together with its subsidiaries, provides offshore contract drilling services Gulf of Mexico, South America, North Sea, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. The company operates through four segments: Floaters, Jackups, ARO, and Other. It owns an offshore drilling rig fleet, which include drillships, dynamically positioned semisubmersible rigs, moored semisubmersible rig, and jackup rigs.