49,413 Shares in Valaris Limited (NYSE:VAL) Acquired by Zacks Investment Management

Zacks Investment Management bought a new stake in Valaris Limited (NYSE:VAL - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 49,413 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,186,000. Zacks Investment Management owned about 0.07% of Valaris as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its position in Valaris by 202.7% during the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 10,490 shares of the company's stock worth $591,000 after buying an additional 7,024 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Valaris by 4.6% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,519,644 shares of the company's stock valued at $84,736,000 after acquiring an additional 66,229 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in Valaris by 4.6% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 37,429 shares of the company's stock worth $1,956,000 after acquiring an additional 1,634 shares in the last quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama boosted its position in Valaris by 2.2% during the third quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 190,025 shares of the company's stock valued at $10,594,000 after purchasing an additional 4,065 shares during the last quarter. Finally, City Center Advisors LLC bought a new position in Valaris in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $319,000. 96.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Valaris Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:VAL traded down $0.51 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $30.82. 847,994 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,467,914. The firm has a market cap of $2.19 billion, a PE ratio of 6.00 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a current ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. Valaris Limited has a 12 month low of $27.15 and a 12 month high of $84.20. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $36.54 and a 200-day moving average price of $43.60.

Valaris (NYSE:VAL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 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%. Research analysts expect that Valaris Limited will post 3.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VAL has been the subject of several analyst reports. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Valaris from $48.00 to $44.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Susquehanna lowered their price objective on shares of Valaris from $47.00 to $34.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Valaris to a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Barclays lowered their price target on Valaris from $46.00 to $35.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut Valaris from an "outperform" rating to an "in-line" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $87.00 to $59.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have assigned a hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $50.33.

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.