State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Has $1.95 Million Stake in Valaris Limited (NYSE:VAL)

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D reduced its stake in Valaris Limited (NYSE:VAL) by 37.8% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 26,207 shares of the company’s stock after selling 15,929 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in Valaris were worth $1,952,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VAL. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Valaris by 1.0% in the first quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 16,124 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,213,000 after buying an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC lifted its position in Valaris by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 7,119 shares of the company’s stock worth $536,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its holdings in Valaris by 1.2% during the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 18,244 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,359,000 after acquiring an additional 214 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Valaris by 180.8% in the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 365 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 235 shares during the last quarter. Finally, World Equity Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Valaris by 1.9% in the second quarter. World Equity Group Inc. now owns 12,827 shares of the company’s stock worth $956,000 after purchasing an additional 238 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.74% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on VAL. Barclays decreased their target price on Valaris from $98.00 to $91.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Pickering Energy Partners downgraded shares of Valaris from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Valaris from $95.00 to $71.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $90.00 price objective on shares of Valaris in a research report on Monday, August 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $91.40.

Valaris Stock Down 1.6 %

Shares of VAL stock opened at $55.31 on Friday. Valaris Limited has a one year low of $53.06 and a one year high of $84.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.73 and a quick ratio of 1.73. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $65.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $69.80. The stock has a market cap of $4.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.84 and a beta of 1.17.

Valaris (NYSE:VAL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $2.03 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96 by $1.07. Valaris had a net margin of 49.33% and a return on equity of 12.58%. The company had revenue of $610.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $545.00 million. Analysts predict that Valaris Limited will post 4.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Valaris news, COO Gilles Luca sold 30,000 shares of Valaris stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.86, for a total transaction of $1,705,800.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 108,342 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,160,326.12. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Valaris news, SVP Davor Vukadin sold 15,403 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.64, for a total value of $872,425.92. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 13,334 shares in the company, valued at $755,237.76. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Gilles Luca sold 30,000 shares of Valaris stock in a transaction on Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.86, for a total value of $1,705,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 108,342 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,160,326.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

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.