Valaris Limited (NYSE:VAL) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Reduce” by Brokerages

Valaris Limited (NYSE:VAL) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Reduce” from the seven analysts that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a hold rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $55.00.

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on VAL shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of Valaris in a research note on Friday, December 6th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $40.00 price objective on the stock. Evercore ISI cut shares of Valaris from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $87.00 to $59.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Valaris from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Susquehanna decreased their target price on shares of Valaris from $50.00 to $47.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Valaris from $49.00 to $46.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Valaris

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Lingotto Investment Management LLP grew its holdings in Valaris by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Lingotto Investment Management LLP now owns 3,637,207 shares of the company’s stock valued at $160,910,000 after buying an additional 87,420 shares in the last quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Valaris in the fourth quarter valued at $611,000. Centiva Capital LP purchased a new position in shares of Valaris in the third quarter valued at $930,000. XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Valaris in the third quarter valued at $1,862,000. Finally, State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D grew its holdings in shares of Valaris by 19.8% in the third quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 31,391 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,750,000 after purchasing an additional 5,184 shares in the last quarter. 96.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Valaris Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:VAL opened at $38.39 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $43.66 and its 200-day moving average price is $47.74. Valaris has a twelve month low of $31.15 and a twelve month high of $84.20. The company has a quick ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.73 billion, a PE ratio of 7.47 and a beta of 1.16.

Valaris (NYSE:VAL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $1.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.68. Valaris had a net margin of 15.81% and a return on equity of 17.40%. The firm had revenue of $584.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $578.01 million. Equities research analysts expect that Valaris will post 3.96 EPS for the current year.

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.