Sprott Inc. Acquires New Position in Valaris Limited $VAL

Key Points

• Sprott Inc. has acquired a new stake in Valaris Limited (NYSE:VAL) by purchasing 5,500 shares valued at approximately $216,000 in the first quarter.
• Institutional ownership of Valaris has soared, with 96.74% of the stock now owned by **institutional investors**, including significant increases from firms like EntryPoint Capital and Nations Financial Group.
• Valaris recently reported quarterly earnings exceeding expectations, with $1.61 earnings per share, significantly above the consensus estimate of $1.16, and a year-over-year revenue growth of 0.8%.

Sprott Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Valaris Limited (NYSE:VAL - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 5,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $216,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Valaris by 1,027.5% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,353 shares of the company's stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 1,233 shares during the period. South Dakota Investment Council raised its holdings in shares of Valaris by 33.1% in the 1st quarter. South Dakota Investment Council now owns 47,456 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,863,000 after purchasing an additional 11,800 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Valaris during the 4th quarter worth $875,000. Deutsche Bank AG raised its position in Valaris by 94.7% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 207,291 shares of the company's stock worth $9,171,000 after acquiring an additional 100,812 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in shares of Valaris by 14.5% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 143,399 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,344,000 after buying an additional 18,107 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.74% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on VAL shares. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $50.00 price objective (up from $47.00) on shares of Valaris in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of Valaris from $55.00 to $50.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Wall Street Zen raised Valaris to a "sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Fearnley Fonds lowered Valaris from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, BTIG Research reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Valaris in a report on Monday, July 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Valaris has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $46.20.

Valaris Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE VAL traded down $0.39 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $48.84. The stock had a trading volume of 865,615 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,745,699. The company has a 50 day moving average of $46.73 and a two-hundred day moving average of $40.86. The firm has a market cap of $3.48 billion, a PE ratio of 12.72 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 1.81 and a current ratio of 1.81. Valaris Limited has a twelve month low of $27.15 and a twelve month high of $63.68.

Valaris (NYSE:VAL - Get Free Report) last posted 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. Valaris had a net margin of 11.18% and a return on equity of 12.36%. The firm had revenue of $615.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $582.70 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.03 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Valaris Limited will post 3.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valaris 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.