Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV Purchases 68,867 Shares of Valaris Limited $VAL

Key Points

• Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV increased its stake in Valaris Limited by 398.5%, acquiring an additional 68,867 shares for a total of 86,149 shares worth $3,382,000.
• Valaris reported a quarterly EPS of $1.61, surpassing estimates of $1.16, with revenue of $615.20 million, signaling a 0.8% year-over-year increase.
• Analysts have set new price targets for Valaris, with Susquehanna upgrading it to $52.00, while the consensus rating for the stock stands at "Hold" with an average price target of $46.20.

Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV boosted its holdings in Valaris Limited (NYSE:VAL - Free Report) by 398.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 86,149 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 68,867 shares during the period. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV owned about 0.12% of Valaris worth $3,382,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of VAL. LPL Financial LLC grew its position in shares of Valaris by 101.4% in the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 21,322 shares of the company's stock valued at $943,000 after acquiring an additional 10,737 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Valaris by 63.8% in the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 18,573 shares of the company's stock valued at $822,000 after buying an additional 7,234 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its stake in Valaris by 19.3% in the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 15,139 shares of the company's stock valued at $670,000 after buying an additional 2,444 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC bought a new stake in Valaris in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $222,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in Valaris by 68.9% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 584,348 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,852,000 after buying an additional 238,399 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.74% of the company's stock.

Valaris Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:VAL traded down $1.6870 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $44.2830. 1,748,541 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,764,321. The company's 50 day moving average is $46.63 and its two-hundred day moving average is $40.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.15 billion, a PE ratio of 11.53 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a quick ratio of 1.81, a current ratio of 1.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. Valaris Limited has a 52 week low of $27.15 and a 52 week high of $65.68.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Fearnley Fonds lowered Valaris from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Valaris from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. BTIG Research reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Valaris in a report on Monday, July 14th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Valaris to a "sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $50.00 target price (up previously from $47.00) on shares of Valaris in a report on Thursday, July 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Valaris has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $46.20.

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.