Townsquare Capital LLC Increases Holdings in Valaris Limited $VAL

Key Points

• Townsquare Capital LLC increased its ownership of Valaris Limited shares by 120.3%, acquiring an additional 9,267 shares for a total of 16,972 shares valued at approximately $666,000.
• Valaris recently faced varying ratings from analysts, with price targets ranging from $50.00 to $52.00, and currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" with an average price target of $46.20.
• The company's latest earnings report exceeded expectations, reporting $1.61 EPS against a consensus estimate of $1.16, and revenue of $615.20 million, up 0.8% from the previous year.

Townsquare Capital LLC boosted its stake in Valaris Limited (NYSE:VAL - Free Report) by 120.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 16,972 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 9,267 shares during the period. Townsquare Capital LLC's holdings in Valaris were worth $666,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Valaris in the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Quarry LP boosted its holdings in Valaris by 51.7% in the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 684 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 233 shares during the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Valaris by 518.3% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 742 shares of the company's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 622 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. bought a new stake in Valaris in the first quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Valaris by 1,027.5% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,353 shares of the company's stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 1,233 shares during the last quarter. 96.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Valaris Stock Up 2.4%

NYSE VAL traded up $1.0760 on Thursday, reaching $46.1060. The company had a trading volume of 745,275 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,397,516. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.01 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. The company's fifty day moving average is $46.63 and its 200 day moving average is $40.92. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.16 by $0.45. The firm had revenue of $615.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $582.70 million. Valaris had a return on equity of 12.36% and a net margin of 11.18%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.03 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Valaris Limited will post 3.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $50.00 target price (up from $47.00) on shares of Valaris in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Valaris to a "sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Susquehanna raised their price objective on shares of Valaris from $46.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on shares of Valaris from $55.00 to $50.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Valaris from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Valaris presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $46.20.

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.