Clearbridge Investments LLC Acquires 59,572 Shares of Valaris Limited (NYSE:VAL)

Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Valaris Limited (NYSE:VAL - Free Report) by 26.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 284,401 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 59,572 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC owned 0.40% of Valaris worth $12,582,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. TLS Advisors LLC bought a new position in Valaris in the 4th quarter worth about $1,239,000. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Valaris by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 16,622 shares of the company's stock worth $735,000 after buying an additional 556 shares in the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its position in shares of Valaris by 15.7% in the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 10,253 shares of the company's stock valued at $454,000 after acquiring an additional 1,393 shares during the period. X Square Capital LLC lifted its stake in Valaris by 69.6% in the 4th quarter. X Square Capital LLC now owns 26,063 shares of the company's stock worth $1,153,000 after purchasing an additional 10,693 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New Age Alpha Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Valaris in the fourth quarter worth $176,000. 96.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on VAL shares. Evercore ISI lowered Valaris from an "outperform" rating to an "in-line" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $87.00 to $59.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Valaris from $49.00 to $46.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Citigroup decreased 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of Valaris in a report on Friday, December 6th. They set an "underweight" rating and a $40.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Susquehanna reduced their target price on Valaris from $50.00 to $47.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $54.33.

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Valaris Trading Down 14.5 %

Shares of Valaris stock traded down $5.01 during trading on Friday, reaching $29.49. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,780,783 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,390,963. The company has a market cap of $2.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.74 and a beta of 1.16. The firm's 50-day moving average is $41.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $46.00. Valaris Limited has a 52-week low of $29.41 and a 52-week high of $84.20. 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 (NYSE:VAL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.68. The firm had revenue of $584.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $578.01 million. Valaris had a return on equity of 17.40% and a net margin of 15.81%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Valaris Limited will post 3.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Valaris 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.