Waverton Investment Management Ltd Purchases 85,250 Shares of Valaris Limited (NYSE:VAL)

Waverton Investment Management Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Valaris Limited (NYSE:VAL) by 12.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 756,135 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 85,250 shares during the period. Waverton Investment Management Ltd owned about 1.06% of Valaris worth $33,451,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of VAL. Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of Valaris during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in Valaris by 41.0% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,758 shares of the company’s stock worth $78,000 after acquiring an additional 511 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in shares of Valaris by 63.3% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,929 shares of the company’s stock worth $130,000 after acquiring an additional 1,135 shares during the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management boosted its stake in shares of Valaris by 24.3% in the 4th quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 4,206 shares of the company’s stock valued at $186,000 after purchasing an additional 821 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA acquired a new stake in shares of Valaris in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $243,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.74% of the company’s stock.

Valaris Stock Performance

NYSE VAL opened at $41.80 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.13 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a quick ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. Valaris Limited has a twelve month low of $39.90 and a twelve month high of $84.20. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $45.42 and a 200 day simple moving average of $50.53.

Valaris (NYSE:VAL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $1.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.68. The company had revenue of $584.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $578.01 million. Valaris had a return on equity of 17.40% and a net margin of 15.81%. Sell-side analysts expect that Valaris Limited will post 3.96 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on VAL. StockNews.com raised shares of Valaris to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday. Evercore ISI downgraded shares of Valaris from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $87.00 to $59.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Valaris from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Susquehanna lowered their target price on Valaris from $50.00 to $47.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Finally, Barclays reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $49.00 target price (down from $59.00) on shares of Valaris in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $55.50.

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.