Valaris Limited (NYSE:VAL) Position Boosted by South Dakota Investment Council

South Dakota Investment Council boosted its holdings in Valaris Limited (NYSE:VAL - Free Report) by 33.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 47,456 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 11,800 shares during the quarter. South Dakota Investment Council owned 0.07% of Valaris worth $1,863,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Valaris during the first quarter valued at $28,000. Quarry LP grew its position in Valaris by 51.7% in the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 684 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 233 shares in the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Valaris by 518.3% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 742 shares of the company's stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 622 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. bought a new stake in shares of Valaris during the 1st quarter worth about $44,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Valaris by 1,027.5% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,353 shares of the company's stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 1,233 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.74% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on VAL. BTIG Research reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Valaris in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $50.00 price target (up from $47.00) on shares of Valaris in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on Valaris from $40.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Valaris from $55.00 to $50.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on Valaris from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Valaris presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $52.50.

Valaris Stock Performance

Shares of VAL opened at $46.98 on Monday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $42.79 and a two-hundred day moving average of $40.80. The stock has a market cap of $3.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.03 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.67 and a quick ratio of 1.67. Valaris Limited has a one year low of $27.15 and a one year high of $84.20.

Valaris (NYSE:VAL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported ($0.53) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.10 by ($1.63). The firm had revenue of $620.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $582.87 million. Valaris had a return on equity of 14.14% and a net margin of 12.61%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Valaris Limited will post 3.96 earnings per share for the current 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.

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