Principal Financial Group Inc. Acquires 744 Shares of Valaris Limited (NYSE:VAL)

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Valaris Limited (NYSE:VAL) by 0.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 151,942 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 744 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.21% of Valaris worth $5,965,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Valaris by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,454,159 shares of the company’s stock worth $285,532,000 after buying an additional 23,509 shares during the last quarter. Condire Management LP lifted its stake in shares of Valaris by 34.1% in the 4th quarter. Condire Management LP now owns 2,618,678 shares of the company’s stock valued at $115,850,000 after acquiring an additional 665,718 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Valaris by 55.5% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,300,577 shares of the company’s stock valued at $101,771,000 after acquiring an additional 821,304 shares in the last quarter. Waverton Investment Management Ltd grew its position in Valaris by 49.7% during the 1st quarter. Waverton Investment Management Ltd now owns 1,131,601 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,455,000 after acquiring an additional 375,466 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Valaris by 12.1% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 818,461 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,209,000 after acquiring an additional 88,160 shares during the last quarter. 96.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Susquehanna lifted their target price on shares of Valaris from $40.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on shares of Valaris from $55.00 to $50.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $50.00 price target (up previously from $47.00) on shares of Valaris in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Barclays increased their price objective on Valaris from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Valaris in a report on Monday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $52.50.

Valaris Price Performance

Valaris stock opened at $45.44 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.67 and a beta of 1.15. Valaris Limited has a 52-week low of $27.15 and a 52-week high of $84.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a current ratio of 1.67. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $42.42 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $40.80.

Valaris (NYSE:VAL) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported ($0.53) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.10 by ($1.63). Valaris had a return on equity of 14.14% and a net margin of 12.61%. The company had revenue of $620.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $582.87 million. Valaris’s revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Valaris Limited will post 3.96 earnings per share for the current year.

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.