HBK Investments L P Takes Position in Valaris Limited $VAL

HBK Investments L P acquired a new position in Valaris Limited (NYSE:VAL) during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund acquired 1,575,143 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $114,355,000. Valaris makes up about 1.1% of HBK Investments L P’s holdings, making the stock its 18th biggest holding.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. DV Trading LLC boosted its stake in Valaris by 5,533.3% in the first quarter. DV Trading LLC now owns 16,900 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,657,000 after acquiring an additional 16,600 shares in the last quarter. Whitebox Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Valaris during the first quarter worth $57,249,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Valaris by 3.5% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,349,443 shares of the company’s stock worth $328,382,000 after purchasing an additional 114,730 shares in the last quarter. Gallacher Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Valaris during the 1st quarter valued at $1,284,000. Finally, Capula Management Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Valaris during the 1st quarter valued at $5,433,000. Institutional investors own 96.74% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on VAL. Weiss Ratings raised Valaris from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Monday, August 17th. Susquehanna upped their target price on Valaris from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $66.60.

Valaris Stock Performance

Shares of Valaris stock traded down $5.65 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $82.58. The company had a trading volume of 1,248,781 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,215,081. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $82.28 and a 200 day simple moving average of $88.73. The stock has a market cap of $5.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.17 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a quick ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. Valaris Limited has a 12-month low of $46.70 and a 12-month high of $114.12.

Valaris (NYSE:VAL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.31 by $0.41. Valaris had a net margin of 43.95% and a return on equity of 9.25%. The business had revenue of $539.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $488.52 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.61 EPS. Valaris’s revenue for the quarter was down 12.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Valaris Limited will post 3.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valaris Profile

Valaris Limited (NYSE: VAL) is an offshore contract drilling company that provides drilling services to energy companies worldwide. The company supports exploration and production activities in offshore oil and natural gas fields, operating mobile offshore drilling units for customers under contract.

Valaris’ fleet includes drillships, semisubmersible rigs and jackup rigs. These units are designed for a range of offshore environments, from relatively shallow waters to deepwater and harsh-environment locations.