Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. Makes New Investment in Valaris Limited (NYSE:VAL)

Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Valaris Limited (NYSE:VAL) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 4,376 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $244,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Natixis acquired a new position in Valaris during the first quarter worth approximately $730,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in shares of Valaris by 6.1% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 34,656 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,609,000 after buying an additional 2,005 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado acquired a new position in Valaris in the first quarter valued at $418,000. Condire Management LP grew its position in Valaris by 14.7% during the first quarter. Condire Management LP now owns 1,452,097 shares of the company’s stock valued at $109,285,000 after acquiring an additional 186,076 shares during the period. Finally, Kent Lake Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Valaris in the 1st quarter worth about $11,289,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.74% of the company’s stock.

Valaris Stock Up 3.6 %

Shares of NYSE:VAL opened at $49.39 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.51 billion, a PE ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $51.98 and a 200 day simple moving average of $63.91. The company has a current ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. Valaris Limited has a 12-month low of $46.03 and a 12-month high of $84.20.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Gilles Luca sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $6,160,326.12. This trade represents a 21.69 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Matthew Lyne sold 26,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.77, for a total value of $1,450,020.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 24,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,360,118.76. This represents a 51.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 71,403 shares of company stock valued at $4,028,246 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on VAL. Susquehanna dropped their target price on shares of Valaris from $61.00 to $55.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Benchmark downgraded shares of Valaris from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Valaris from $95.00 to $71.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on Valaris from $61.00 to $59.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Valaris has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $80.00.

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.