Loomis Sayles & Co. L P Trims Stock Position in Valaris Limited (NYSE:VAL)

Loomis Sayles & Co. L P lessened its stake in shares of Valaris Limited (NYSE:VAL) by 16.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 171,575 shares of the company’s stock after selling 33,049 shares during the quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P owned about 0.24% of Valaris worth $9,565,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Lingotto Investment Management LLP lifted its position in shares of Valaris by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Lingotto Investment Management LLP now owns 3,040,610 shares of the company’s stock worth $226,525,000 after buying an additional 36,870 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its position in shares of Valaris by 5.9% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,882,846 shares of the company’s stock worth $140,272,000 after buying an additional 105,330 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 225,283 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Valaris by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 797,060 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,436,000 after buying an additional 29,031 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Waverton Investment Management Ltd lifted its position in shares of Valaris by 20.4% during the 3rd quarter. Waverton Investment Management Ltd now owns 670,885 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,412,000 after buying an additional 113,509 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.74% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Valaris

In other news, SVP Davor Vukadin sold 15,403 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 13,334 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $755,237.76. This represents a 53.60 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Gilles Luca sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 71,403 shares of company stock valued at $4,028,246. 0.12% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Valaris Stock Performance

Shares of VAL opened at $45.57 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a current ratio of 1.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 1.17. The company’s fifty day moving average is $51.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $63.28. Valaris Limited has a 1 year low of $45.42 and a 1 year high of $84.20.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VAL has been the subject of several research reports. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Valaris from $61.00 to $59.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Valaris from $71.00 to $58.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Benchmark downgraded shares of Valaris from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Susquehanna reduced their price target 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. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, Valaris currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $77.83.

Valaris 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.