Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV Cuts Stock Holdings in Valaris Limited (NYSE:VAL)

Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV trimmed its holdings in shares of Valaris Limited (NYSE:VAL - Free Report) by 28.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,282 shares of the company's stock after selling 6,835 shares during the quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV's holdings in Valaris were worth $765,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Centiva Capital LP bought a new position in shares of Valaris during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $930,000. XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new position in Valaris during the 3rd quarter worth $1,862,000. Diversify Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in Valaris by 14.8% in the third quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 137,572 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,670,000 after buying an additional 17,690 shares during the last quarter. Waverton Investment Management Ltd grew its stake in shares of Valaris by 20.4% during the third quarter. Waverton Investment Management Ltd now owns 670,885 shares of the company's stock worth $37,412,000 after acquiring an additional 113,509 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D increased its holdings in shares of Valaris by 19.8% during the third quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 31,391 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,750,000 after acquiring an additional 5,184 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.74% of the company's stock.

Valaris Trading Up 4.2 %

Shares of Valaris stock traded up $1.78 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $44.60. The stock had a trading volume of 3,454,441 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,575,448. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $45.44 and a two-hundred day moving average of $50.90. The company has a quick ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The firm has a market cap of $3.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 1.10. Valaris Limited has a 12-month low of $39.90 and a 12-month high of $84.20.

Valaris (NYSE:VAL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $1.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.68. The business had revenue of $584.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $578.01 million. Valaris had a net margin of 47.52% and a return on equity of 13.67%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Valaris Limited will post 4.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VAL has been the subject of a number of research reports. Evercore ISI cut 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 research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Barclays reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and set a $49.00 target price (down previously from $59.00) on shares of Valaris in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of Valaris in a report on Friday, December 6th. They issued an "underweight" rating and a $40.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Valaris from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Susquehanna dropped their price objective on shares of Valaris from $61.00 to $55.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have issued a hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $56.83.

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.