Valaris Limited (NYSE:VAL) Shares Purchased by Sigma Planning Corp

Sigma Planning Corp boosted its position in shares of Valaris Limited (NYSE:VAL) by 16.5% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 4,728 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 670 shares during the quarter. Sigma Planning Corp’s holdings in Valaris were worth $264,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VAL. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund acquired a new position in shares of Valaris in the 2nd quarter valued at $28,884,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Valaris by 23.4% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,188,973 shares of the company’s stock worth $88,573,000 after purchasing an additional 225,283 shares during the period. Condire Management LP grew its position in Valaris by 14.7% during the 1st quarter. Condire Management LP now owns 1,452,097 shares of the company’s stock worth $109,285,000 after purchasing an additional 186,076 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Valaris by 338.5% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 236,379 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,426,000 after purchasing an additional 182,467 shares during the period. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new stake in shares of Valaris in the second quarter valued at about $13,306,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.74% of the company’s stock.

Valaris Stock Down 4.1 %

VAL opened at $48.51 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $52.68 and a 200-day simple moving average of $64.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 1.61 and a quick ratio of 1.61. Valaris Limited has a 12 month low of $48.04 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 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 owns 108,342 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,160,326.12. This trade represents a 21.69 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Davor Vukadin sold 15,403 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.64, for a total transaction of $872,425.92. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 13,334 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $755,237.76. This trade represents a 53.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 71,403 shares of company stock worth $4,028,246. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Valaris Company 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.