Teacher Retirement System of Texas Takes Position in Valaris Limited (NYSE:VAL)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas bought a new stake in Valaris Limited (NYSE:VAL) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm bought 9,372 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $368,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Quarry LP grew its stake in shares of Valaris by 51.7% in the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 684 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 233 shares during the last quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Valaris in the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Valaris by 518.3% in the 4th 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. UMB Bank n.a. acquired a new stake in shares of Valaris in the 1st quarter worth about $44,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Valaris by 1,027.5% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,353 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 1,233 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.74% of the company’s stock.

Valaris Price Performance

Valaris stock opened at $47.40 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $3.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.13 and a beta of 1.15. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $42.62 and its 200 day moving average is $40.83. The company has a quick ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. 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, April 30th. The company reported ($0.53) 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $582.87 million. The firm’s revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Valaris Limited will post 3.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on VAL shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Valaris to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $50.00 target price (up from $47.00) on shares of Valaris in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of Valaris from $55.00 to $50.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Valaris from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Susquehanna raised their price target on shares of Valaris from $40.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $52.50.

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.