Merrion Investment Management Co LLC Purchases 21,000 Shares of Valaris Limited $VAL

Key Points

• Merrion Investment Management initiated a Valaris position by purchasing 21,000 shares worth approximately $1.65 million, while institutional investors collectively own 96.74% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious: six analysts rate Valaris “Hold” and one rates it “Sell,” resulting in an average “Reduce” rating and a consensus price target of $67.80.
• Valaris shares recently rose 1.9% to $85.35. The company beat quarterly earnings expectations with $0.72 in EPS versus a $0.31 consensus, although revenue declined 12.4% year over year.

Merrion Investment Management Co LLC bought a new position in Valaris Limited (NYSE:VAL - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund bought 21,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,649,000. Valaris accounts for about 0.7% of Merrion Investment Management Co LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest position.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. HBK Investments L P purchased a new stake in shares of Valaris during the second quarter worth about $114,355,000. Whitebox Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Valaris in the first quarter worth $57,249,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund boosted its position in shares of Valaris by 67.8% during the first quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 1,363,230 shares of the company's stock worth $133,651,000 after acquiring an additional 550,987 shares during the last quarter. Goehring & Rozencwajg Associates LLC grew its stake in Valaris by 24.2% during the first quarter. Goehring & Rozencwajg Associates LLC now owns 1,319,351 shares of the company's stock valued at $129,349,000 after acquiring an additional 257,281 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. grew its stake in Valaris by 66.2% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 399,805 shares of the company's stock valued at $39,197,000 after acquiring an additional 159,304 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.74% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VAL has been the topic of several recent research reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Valaris from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Monday, August 17th. Susquehanna raised their price objective on shares of Valaris from $80.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, October 5th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Valaris to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Valaris presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $67.80.

Valaris Stock Up 1.9%

Shares of VAL traded up $1.60 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $85.35. The company had a trading volume of 879,171 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,026,011. The company has a market capitalization of $5.93 billion, a PE ratio of 6.37 and a beta of 1.04. The company's fifty day moving average price is $84.55 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $86.85. Valaris Limited has a one year low of $47.37 and a one year high of $114.12. The company has a current ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

Valaris (NYSE:VAL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.31 by $0.41. The business had revenue of $539.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $488.52 million. Valaris had a net margin of 43.95% and a return on equity of 9.25%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.61 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Valaris Limited will post 3.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Valaris

Valaris Limited NYSE: VAL is an offshore drilling contractor that provides drilling services to oil and gas companies worldwide. The company operates a fleet of offshore rigs, including drillships, semisubmersible rigs and jackup rigs, used to explore for and develop offshore energy resources.

Its services support drilling programs in a range of offshore environments, from shallow-water projects using jackup rigs to deepwater and ultra-deepwater operations using drillships and semisubmersible rigs.

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