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

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D boosted its position in shares of Valaris Limited (NYSE:VAL) by 8.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 36,106 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,780 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in Valaris were worth $2,476,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in VAL. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its holdings in Valaris by 19.2% during the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 14,893 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,021,000 after acquiring an additional 2,397 shares in the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new stake in shares of Valaris during the 4th quarter worth $1,207,000. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Valaris by 92.9% during the fourth quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 79,674 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,463,000 after purchasing an additional 38,367 shares in the last quarter. Lancaster Investment Management purchased a new position in Valaris in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,436,000. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Valaris by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 28,022 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,921,000 after acquiring an additional 1,080 shares in the last quarter. 96.74% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Valaris Price Performance

NYSE:VAL opened at $64.12 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $4.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.49 and a beta of 1.20. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $69.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $67.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 1.71 and a current ratio of 1.71. Valaris Limited has a one year low of $54.13 and a one year high of $78.92.

Valaris (NYSE:VAL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The company reported $0.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.32. The company had revenue of $483.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $484.00 million. Valaris had a return on equity of 5.71% and a net margin of 48.50%. Research analysts expect that Valaris Limited will post 4.75 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VAL has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Barclays dropped their target price on Valaris from $105.00 to $102.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. StockNews.com raised shares of Valaris to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of Valaris from $107.00 to $105.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 23rd. Finally, TheStreet raised shares of Valaris from a “c” rating to a “b-” rating in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $100.00.

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.