Lingotto Investment Management LLP Boosts Stake in Valaris Limited (NYSE:VAL)

Lingotto Investment Management LLP lifted its holdings in Valaris Limited (NYSE:VAL - Free Report) by 2.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,637,207 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 87,420 shares during the period. Valaris makes up approximately 4.3% of Lingotto Investment Management LLP's portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest position. Lingotto Investment Management LLP owned approximately 5.11% of Valaris worth $160,910,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Quarry LP bought a new stake in Valaris in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in Valaris by 41.0% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,758 shares of the company's stock valued at $78,000 after buying an additional 511 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its position in Valaris by 63.3% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,929 shares of the company's stock valued at $130,000 after buying an additional 1,135 shares in the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management increased its position in 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 buying an additional 821 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA bought a new stake in Valaris in the 4th quarter valued at about $243,000. 96.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on VAL shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on Valaris in a research report on Friday, December 6th. They issued an "underweight" rating and a $40.00 target price for the company. Evercore ISI lowered Valaris from an "outperform" rating to an "in-line" rating and decreased their target price for the company from $87.00 to $59.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Barclays cut their price target on Valaris from $49.00 to $46.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. StockNews.com upgraded Valaris to a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on Valaris from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $55.00.

Valaris Stock Down 2.6 %

VAL stock traded down $0.95 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $35.69. 3,176,247 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,785,565. Valaris Limited has a fifty-two week low of $35.40 and a fifty-two week high of $84.20. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $45.01 and its 200 day moving average price is $49.78. The stock has a market cap of $2.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.94 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 (NYSE:VAL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $1.88 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $584.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $578.01 million. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Valaris Limited will post 3.96 EPS for the current fiscal 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.