Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Acquires 208,200 Shares of Valaris Limited (NYSE:VAL)

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its holdings in Valaris Limited (NYSE:VAL) by 221.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 302,200 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 208,200 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board owned 0.42% of Valaris worth $13,369,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Valaris by 518.3% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 742 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 622 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC grew its position 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 purchasing an additional 1,177 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased 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 worth $78,000 after purchasing an additional 511 shares during the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Valaris by 326.9% in the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,874 shares of the company’s stock worth $83,000 after buying an additional 1,435 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in Valaris by 40.1% during the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,911 shares of the company’s stock valued at $85,000 after buying an additional 547 shares during the last quarter. 96.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Valaris Price Performance

Shares of VAL stock opened at $31.90 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $37.13 and a 200 day moving average price of $43.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.21 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a current ratio of 1.59. Valaris Limited has a 52-week low of $27.15 and a 52-week high of $84.20.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI cut Valaris from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $87.00 to $59.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Valaris from $48.00 to $44.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Barclays dropped their price target on Valaris from $46.00 to $35.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Susquehanna lowered their price objective on Valaris from $47.00 to $34.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Valaris to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $50.33.

Valaris Company 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.