River Road Asset Management LLC Sells 253,394 Shares of Valaris Limited (NYSE:VAL)

River Road Asset Management LLC decreased its stake in shares of Valaris Limited (NYSE:VAL - Free Report) by 63.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 146,728 shares of the company's stock after selling 253,394 shares during the period. River Road Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.20% of Valaris worth $8,180,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Arizona State Retirement System increased its holdings in Valaris by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 18,244 shares of the company's stock worth $1,359,000 after purchasing an additional 214 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Valaris by 180.8% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 365 shares of the company's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 235 shares during the period. World Equity Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Valaris by 1.9% during the second quarter. World Equity Group Inc. now owns 12,827 shares of the company's stock worth $956,000 after buying an additional 238 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Valaris by 5.0% in the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,080 shares of the company's stock valued at $378,000 after buying an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deane Retirement Strategies Inc. lifted its stake in Valaris by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Deane Retirement Strategies Inc. now owns 40,504 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,259,000 after acquiring an additional 251 shares in the last quarter. 96.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VAL has been the subject of several research reports. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Valaris from $95.00 to $71.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Susquehanna lowered their price target on shares of Valaris from $61.00 to $55.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Benchmark cut shares of Valaris from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Pickering Energy Partners cut Valaris from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on Valaris from $61.00 to $59.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $80.00.

Valaris Stock Performance

Shares of VAL stock traded up $2.97 on Wednesday, reaching $52.27. The stock had a trading volume of 2,050,640 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,055,246. Valaris Limited has a 12 month low of $48.04 and a 12 month high of $84.20. 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 capitalization of $3.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 1.17. The firm's 50-day moving average is $53.99 and its two-hundred day moving average is $65.52.

Insider Buying and Selling at Valaris

In other news, COO Gilles Luca sold 30,000 shares of Valaris stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.86, for a total transaction of $1,705,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 108,342 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,160,326.12. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, COO Gilles Luca sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.86, for a total value of $1,705,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 108,342 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,160,326.12. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Davor Vukadin sold 15,403 shares of Valaris stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.64, for a total transaction of $872,425.92. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 13,334 shares of the company's stock, valued at $755,237.76. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 71,403 shares of company stock worth $4,028,246 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.

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.