Northern Trust Corp Buys 88,160 Shares of Valaris Limited (NYSE:VAL)

Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of Valaris Limited (NYSE:VAL - Free Report) by 12.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 818,461 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 88,160 shares during the quarter. Northern Trust Corp owned about 1.15% of Valaris worth $36,209,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VAL. Quarry LP grew its position in Valaris by 51.7% in the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 684 shares of the company's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 233 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its position in shares of Valaris by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 19,002 shares of the company's stock valued at $841,000 after acquiring an additional 237 shares during the period. Xponance Inc. raised its position in shares of Valaris by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 9,273 shares of the company's stock worth $410,000 after purchasing an additional 487 shares during the last quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System grew its stake in Valaris by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 15,500 shares of the company's stock worth $686,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in Valaris by 41.0% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,758 shares of the company's stock valued at $78,000 after acquiring an additional 511 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.74% of the company's stock.

Valaris Price Performance

VAL traded up $1.65 on Monday, reaching $39.86. The company had a trading volume of 2,308,798 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,529,997. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $35.30 and a 200 day simple moving average of $41.90. The company has a market cap of $2.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.76 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a current ratio of 1.59. Valaris Limited has a 52-week low of $27.15 and a 52-week high of $84.20.

Valaris (NYSE:VAL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported ($0.53) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.10 by ($1.63). The company had revenue of $620.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $582.87 million. Valaris had a net margin of 15.81% and a return on equity of 17.40%. Valaris's quarterly revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Valaris Limited will post 3.96 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on VAL shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Valaris to a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Valaris from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Valaris from $48.00 to $44.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of Valaris from $55.00 to $50.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Susquehanna dropped their target price on shares of Valaris from $47.00 to $34.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Valaris currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $49.17.

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.