State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Acquires 13,840 Shares of Valaris Limited (NYSE:VAL)

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D grew its holdings in Valaris Limited (NYSE:VAL) by 44.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 45,231 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 13,840 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D owned approximately 0.06% of Valaris worth $2,001,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of VAL. Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of Valaris in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in shares of Valaris by 41.0% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,758 shares of the company’s stock worth $78,000 after buying an additional 511 shares during the last quarter. Saturna Capital Corp grew its position in shares of Valaris by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Saturna Capital Corp now owns 13,290 shares of the company’s stock worth $741,000 after buying an additional 604 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its position in shares of Valaris by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 15,651 shares of the company’s stock worth $873,000 after buying an additional 604 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sigma Planning Corp grew its position in shares of Valaris by 16.5% in the 3rd quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 4,728 shares of the company’s stock worth $264,000 after buying an additional 670 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.74% of the company’s stock.

Valaris Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE VAL opened at $41.80 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. Valaris Limited has a 12 month low of $39.90 and a 12 month high of $84.20. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $45.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $50.53. The stock has a market cap of $2.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.13 and a beta of 1.10.

Valaris (NYSE:VAL) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.68. Valaris had a net margin of 15.81% and a return on equity of 17.40%. The firm had revenue of $584.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $578.01 million. As a group, analysts predict that Valaris Limited will post 3.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of Valaris in a research report on Friday, December 6th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $40.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $49.00 target price (down previously from $59.00) on shares of Valaris in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Susquehanna dropped their target price on shares of Valaris from $50.00 to $47.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. StockNews.com raised shares of Valaris to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Valaris from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $55.50.

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.