State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co. Cuts Stock Position in Valaris Limited (NYSE:VAL)

State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co. trimmed its holdings in Valaris Limited (NYSE:VAL - Free Report) by 20.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 58,965 shares of the company's stock after selling 14,734 shares during the quarter. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co. owned approximately 0.08% of Valaris worth $2,609,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Valaris in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Signaturefd LLC raised its stake in shares of Valaris by 395.0% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,475 shares of the company's stock valued at $65,000 after acquiring an additional 1,177 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 511 shares during the period. KBC Group NV grew its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 1,135 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New Age Alpha Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Valaris during the 4th quarter worth $176,000. 96.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Valaris Stock Down 1.3 %

Valaris stock traded down $0.53 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $40.11. The company's stock had a trading volume of 397,378 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,360,688. Valaris Limited has a 52-week low of $31.15 and a 52-week high of $84.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.80 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 1.59 and a quick ratio of 1.61. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $41.91 and its 200-day simple moving average is $46.30.

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Valaris (NYSE:VAL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.68. Valaris had a return on equity of 17.40% and a net margin of 15.81%. The company had revenue of $584.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $578.01 million. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Valaris Limited will post 3.96 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on VAL. Barclays lowered their target price on Valaris from $49.00 to $46.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Evercore ISI cut shares of Valaris from an "outperform" rating to an "in-line" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $87.00 to $59.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Susquehanna reduced their price target on shares of Valaris from $50.00 to $47.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 21st. StockNews.com upgraded Valaris to a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Valaris from $48.00 to $44.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. 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 presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $54.33.

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.