State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Increases Holdings in Valaris Limited (NYSE:VAL)

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D increased its position in shares of Valaris Limited (NYSE:VAL) by 19.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 31,391 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,184 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in Valaris were worth $1,750,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of VAL. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Valaris by 180.8% during the 1st 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 last quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Valaris during the second quarter worth $204,000. Choreo LLC acquired a new position in Valaris during the second quarter valued at $204,000. Scientech Research LLC acquired a new stake in Valaris during the 2nd quarter worth about $211,000. Finally, SkyView Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Valaris during the 2nd quarter valued at about $224,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.74% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Matthew Lyne sold 26,000 shares of Valaris stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.77, for a total value of $1,450,020.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 24,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,360,118.76. The trade was a 51.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Davor Vukadin sold 15,403 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.64, for a total value of $872,425.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 13,334 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $755,237.76. This represents a 53.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 71,403 shares of company stock worth $4,028,246. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Valaris Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:VAL opened at $48.30 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $52.53 and its 200-day moving average price is $64.44. Valaris Limited has a 1 year low of $47.87 and a 1 year high of $84.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 1.61 and a quick ratio of 1.61.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Citigroup lowered their target price on Valaris from $95.00 to $71.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. 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 research note on Friday, November 1st. Benchmark cut shares of Valaris from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Valaris from $61.00 to $59.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $80.00.

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.