Valaris Limited (NYSE:VAL) Holdings Lifted by Clearbridge Investments LLC

Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Valaris Limited (NYSE:VAL) by 26.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 284,401 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 59,572 shares during the quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC owned about 0.40% of Valaris worth $12,582,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its holdings in shares of Valaris by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 15,651 shares of the company’s stock worth $873,000 after purchasing an additional 604 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its holdings in shares of Valaris by 12.6% in the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 15,348 shares of the company’s stock valued at $856,000 after buying an additional 1,713 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in shares of Valaris by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 125,292 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,985,000 after acquiring an additional 2,598 shares in the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Valaris by 92.2% in the 3rd quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 26,525 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,479,000 after acquiring an additional 12,725 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Centiva Capital LP acquired a new stake in shares of Valaris during the third quarter worth $930,000. 96.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on VAL shares. Barclays decreased their price target on Valaris from $49.00 to $46.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. StockNews.com raised shares of Valaris to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Valaris from $48.00 to $44.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Susquehanna lowered their price objective on shares of Valaris from $50.00 to $47.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on Valaris in a report on Friday, December 6th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $40.00 target price for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $54.33.

Valaris Trading Down 1.4 %

Valaris stock opened at $40.07 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. Valaris Limited has a 12 month low of $31.15 and a 12 month high of $84.20. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $41.75 and its 200-day simple moving average is $46.26. The stock has a market cap of $2.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.80 and a beta of 1.16.

Valaris (NYSE:VAL) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $1.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.68. The company had revenue of $584.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $578.01 million. Valaris had a return on equity of 17.40% and a net margin of 15.81%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Valaris Limited will post 3.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valaris Profile

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.