State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Increases Stake in Valaris Limited (NYSE:VAL)

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D grew its stake in shares of Valaris Limited (NYSE:VAL) by 8.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 36,106 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,780 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in Valaris were worth $2,476,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Valaris in the 3rd quarter worth $132,000. Xponance Inc. increased its holdings in Valaris by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 9,023 shares of the company’s stock valued at $677,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates raised its position in Valaris by 33.6% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 33,327 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,499,000 after purchasing an additional 8,385 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Valaris by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 6,940 shares of the company’s stock worth $520,000 after buying an additional 172 shares during the period. Finally, New York State Teachers Retirement System grew its position in shares of Valaris by 98.8% in the 3rd quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 34,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,564,000 after buying an additional 17,000 shares during the last quarter. 96.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Valaris Price Performance

VAL stock opened at $64.12 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 1.71 and a current ratio of 1.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.49 and a beta of 1.20. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $69.79 and a 200-day moving average price of $67.92. Valaris Limited has a 52-week low of $54.13 and a 52-week high of $78.92.

Valaris (NYSE:VAL) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The company reported $0.61 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.32. The firm had revenue of $483.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $484.00 million. Valaris had a return on equity of 5.71% and a net margin of 48.50%. Equities research analysts forecast that Valaris Limited will post 4.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on VAL shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Valaris to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. TheStreet upgraded shares of Valaris from a “c” rating to a “b-” rating in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. Barclays reduced their target price on Valaris from $105.00 to $102.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Valaris from $107.00 to $105.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $100.00.

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.