Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Trims Stock Position in Valaris Limited (NYSE:VAL)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System cut its stake in shares of Valaris Limited (NYSE:VAL) by 1.6% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 18,200 shares of the company’s stock after selling 300 shares during the quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Valaris were worth $805,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA purchased a new position in shares of Valaris during the fourth quarter worth approximately $243,000. Jennison Associates LLC increased its holdings in Valaris by 27.3% during the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 20,641 shares of the company’s stock valued at $913,000 after buying an additional 4,422 shares during the period. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Valaris by 177.5% in the fourth quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 72,688 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,216,000 after buying an additional 46,493 shares in the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management raised its stake in Valaris by 24.3% in the fourth quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 4,206 shares of the company’s stock worth $186,000 after buying an additional 821 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Deane Retirement Strategies Inc. raised its stake in Valaris by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. Deane Retirement Strategies Inc. now owns 42,984 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,902,000 after buying an additional 2,480 shares in the last quarter. 96.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Valaris Stock Performance

Shares of VAL stock opened at $44.82 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $45.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $50.96. The company has a market cap of $3.19 billion, a PE ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. Valaris Limited has a 12-month low of $39.90 and a 12-month high of $84.20.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VAL has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Valaris from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Susquehanna reduced their price objective on shares of Valaris from $61.00 to $55.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Evercore ISI downgraded shares of Valaris from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $87.00 to $59.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Barclays reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $49.00 price objective (down previously from $59.00) on shares of Valaris in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on Valaris in a research report on Friday, December 6th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $40.00 price target on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have issued a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $56.83.

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.