Blue Trust Inc. Increases Stake in Valaris Limited (NYSE:VAL)

Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of Valaris Limited (NYSE:VAL) by 41.0% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,758 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 511 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Valaris were worth $78,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of Valaris during the third quarter valued at $25,000. Saturna Capital Corp increased its stake in shares of Valaris by 4.8% during the third quarter. Saturna Capital Corp now owns 13,290 shares of the company’s stock valued at $741,000 after buying an additional 604 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its stake in Valaris by 4.0% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 15,651 shares of the company’s stock valued at $873,000 after purchasing an additional 604 shares during the last quarter. Sigma Planning Corp grew its stake in Valaris by 16.5% in the third quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 4,728 shares of the company’s stock valued at $264,000 after purchasing an additional 670 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Spire Wealth Management grew its stake in Valaris by 24.3% in the fourth quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 4,206 shares of the company’s stock valued at $186,000 after purchasing an additional 821 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.74% of the company’s stock.

Valaris Price Performance

Shares of NYSE VAL opened at $41.80 on Monday. 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 cap of $2.97 billion, a PE ratio of 8.13 and a beta of 1.10. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $45.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $50.53. Valaris Limited has a fifty-two week low of $39.90 and a fifty-two week high of $84.20.

Valaris (NYSE:VAL) last issued its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $584.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $578.01 million. Valaris had a return on equity of 17.40% and a net margin of 15.81%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Valaris Limited will post 3.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on VAL. Citigroup lifted their target price on Valaris from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $49.00 target price (down previously from $59.00) on shares of Valaris in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on Valaris in a research note on Friday, December 6th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $40.00 target price on the stock. Evercore ISI lowered Valaris from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and cut their target price for the company from $87.00 to $59.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Valaris to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $55.50.

Valaris Company 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.