Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. Purchases New Position in Valaris Limited $VAL

Key Points

• Polar Asset Management acquired 20,000 Valaris shares during the first quarter, valued at approximately $1.96 million. Institutional investors collectively own 96.74% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious: nine analysts rate Valaris “Hold” and one rates it “Sell,” contributing to an average “Reduce” rating and a consensus price target of $60.31. Susquehanna recently cut its target from $98 to $75.
• Valaris shares opened at $78.60, down 1.2%, while the company reported a quarterly EPS loss of $0.24—worse than the expected $0.05 loss—despite revenue of $465.4 million exceeding estimates.

Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Valaris Limited (NYSE:VAL - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 20,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,961,000.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Valaris by 3.5% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,349,443 shares of the company's stock worth $328,382,000 after purchasing an additional 114,730 shares during the period. Schf GPE LLC acquired a new position in shares of Valaris in the 2nd quarter valued at $77,675,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund increased its position in shares of Valaris by 67.8% in the 1st quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 1,363,230 shares of the company's stock valued at $133,651,000 after buying an additional 550,987 shares in the last quarter. Goehring & Rozencwajg Associates LLC increased its position in shares of Valaris by 24.2% in the 1st quarter. Goehring & Rozencwajg Associates LLC now owns 1,319,351 shares of the company's stock valued at $129,349,000 after buying an additional 257,281 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FIL Ltd increased its position in shares of Valaris by 10.4% in the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 1,220,279 shares of the company's stock valued at $61,502,000 after buying an additional 114,967 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.74% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on VAL shares. Susquehanna reduced their target price on Valaris from $98.00 to $75.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Weiss Ratings lowered Valaris from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Nine equities 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.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $60.31.

Valaris Trading Down 1.2%

VAL opened at $78.60 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.50 and a beta of 0.93. 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 Limited has a 12 month low of $43.53 and a 12 month high of $114.12. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $84.20 and its 200 day simple moving average is $84.84.

Valaris (NYSE:VAL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The company reported ($0.24) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.05) by ($0.19). The firm had revenue of $465.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $443.75 million. Valaris had a return on equity of 12.31% and a net margin of 45.37%.Valaris's revenue for the quarter was down 25.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted ($0.53) EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Valaris Limited will post 3.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valaris Company Profile

Valaris PLC is a leading provider of offshore drilling services to the global energy industry. The company operates a diverse fleet of mobile offshore drilling units, including drillships, semisubmersibles and jackup rigs, designed to support exploration and production activities in deepwater, ultra-deepwater and harsh‐environment settings. Valaris serves a wide range of international oil and gas customers, offering turnkey drilling solutions, project management and advanced technology integration to enhance operational efficiency and safety.

Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Valaris maintains a significant presence in key offshore basins around the world.

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