Valaris (NYSE:VAL) Now Covered by Susquehanna

Susquehanna initiated coverage on shares of Valaris (NYSE:VAL) in a research note released on Tuesday, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm issued a neutral rating and a $62.00 price objective on the stock.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Pickering Energy Partners lowered shares of Valaris from an outperform rating to a neutral rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Valaris from $98.00 to $91.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 9th. Benchmark reissued a buy rating and issued a $90.00 price target on shares of Valaris in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price objective on Valaris from $95.00 to $71.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Valaris presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $86.50.

Valaris Trading Up 4.4 %

VAL opened at $56.10 on Tuesday. Valaris has a 1-year low of $53.06 and a 1-year high of $84.20. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $62.84 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $69.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.08 billion, a PE ratio of 4.91 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a current ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Gilles Luca sold 30,000 shares of the firm’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 sale, the chief operating officer now owns 108,342 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,160,326.12. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Valaris news, SVP Davor Vukadin sold 15,403 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.64, for a total transaction of $872,425.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 13,334 shares in the company, valued at approximately $755,237.76. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Gilles Luca sold 30,000 shares of Valaris 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 completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 108,342 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,160,326.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Valaris

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings 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. Assetmark Inc. increased its stake in Valaris by 88.3% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,747 shares of the company’s stock valued at $120,000 after buying an additional 819 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in Valaris during the 1st quarter worth about $149,000. Evergreen Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Valaris during the 2nd quarter worth about $204,000. Finally, Choreo LLC acquired a new position in shares of Valaris during the 2nd quarter worth about $204,000. Institutional investors own 96.74% 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.