Van ECK Associates Corp Reduces Position in Valaris Limited (NYSE:VAL)

Van ECK Associates Corp lessened its position in shares of Valaris Limited (NYSE:VAL) by 4.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,620,071 shares of the company’s stock after selling 84,286 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp owned about 2.22% of Valaris worth $111,088,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FMR LLC raised its stake in Valaris by 31.8% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,812,867 shares of the company’s stock valued at $285,889,000 after purchasing an additional 919,123 shares during the period. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. grew its holdings in Valaris by 8.7% in the 3rd quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 2,499,355 shares of the company’s stock valued at $187,402,000 after buying an additional 199,662 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Valaris by 7.1% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,816,177 shares of the company’s stock valued at $136,177,000 after buying an additional 120,550 shares during the last quarter. Platinum Investment Management Ltd. boosted its stake in Valaris by 26.8% during the third quarter. Platinum Investment Management Ltd. now owns 990,889 shares of the company’s stock worth $74,297,000 after buying an additional 209,350 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of Valaris by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 773,737 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,015,000 after purchasing an additional 3,316 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.74% of the company’s stock.

Valaris Stock Performance

Shares of Valaris stock traded down $3.42 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $65.66. 442,116 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 859,447. Valaris Limited has a 12 month low of $54.13 and a 12 month high of $78.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 1.71 and a current ratio of 1.71. The stock has a market cap of $4.75 billion, a PE ratio of 5.91 and a beta of 1.13. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $69.78 and its 200 day moving average is $68.00.

Valaris (NYSE:VAL) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The company reported $0.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.32. The business had revenue of $483.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $484.00 million. Valaris had a return on equity of 5.71% and a net margin of 48.50%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Valaris Limited will post 4.75 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VAL has been the subject of several recent research reports. TheStreet upgraded shares of Valaris from a “c” rating to a “b-” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. Barclays lowered their price target on Valaris from $105.00 to $102.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. StockNews.com raised Valaris to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of Valaris from $107.00 to $105.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $100.00.

About Valaris

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.