Valaris Limited $VAL Shares Sold by Contrarian Capital Management L.L.C.

Key Points

• Contrarian Capital Management L.L.C. reduced its holdings in Valaris Limited by 37.1%, selling 18,566 shares and now owns 31,434 shares, which represent about 0.3% of its total portfolio.
• Wall Street analysts show a mixed outlook for Valaris, with a target price range adjustments from $37.00 to $52.00, reflecting various ratings ranging from "Buy" to "Sell."
• Valaris reported a net margin of 11.18% and earnings per share of $1.61 for the most recent quarter, exceeding analyst expectations for both revenue and earnings.

Contrarian Capital Management L.L.C. lowered its position in Valaris Limited (NYSE:VAL - Free Report) by 37.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 31,434 shares of the company's stock after selling 18,566 shares during the quarter. Valaris comprises about 0.3% of Contrarian Capital Management L.L.C.'s holdings, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. Contrarian Capital Management L.L.C.'s holdings in Valaris were worth $1,234,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of VAL. Dalal Street LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Valaris in the first quarter valued at about $56,046,000. Condire Management LP boosted its stake in Valaris by 34.1% during the fourth quarter. Condire Management LP now owns 2,618,678 shares of the company's stock worth $115,850,000 after buying an additional 665,718 shares during the period. Moerus Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Valaris during the first quarter worth about $18,314,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Valaris by 20.0% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,761,369 shares of the company's stock worth $108,412,000 after buying an additional 460,792 shares during the period. Finally, Waverton Investment Management Ltd boosted its stake in Valaris by 49.7% during the first quarter. Waverton Investment Management Ltd now owns 1,131,601 shares of the company's stock worth $44,455,000 after buying an additional 375,466 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.74% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VAL has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Susquehanna increased their target price on shares of Valaris from $46.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Valaris from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Fearnley Fonds lowered shares of Valaris from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. BTIG Research reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Valaris in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Valaris from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $46.20.

Valaris Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of NYSE VAL traded up $0.60 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $49.72. The company's stock had a trading volume of 724,718 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,165,869. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $47.01 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $40.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 1.81 and a quick ratio of 1.81. Valaris Limited has a 1 year low of $27.15 and a 1 year high of $61.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.95 and a beta of 1.17.

Valaris (NYSE:VAL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.61 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.16 by $0.45. The firm had revenue of $615.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $582.70 million. Valaris had a net margin of 11.18% and a return on equity of 12.36%. The firm's revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.03 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Valaris Limited will post 3.96 EPS for the current year.

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.