Valaris (NYSE:VAL) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

Valaris (NYSE:VAL) was upgraded by analysts at StockNews.com to a “sell” rating in a report released on Thursday.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Susquehanna cut their price objective on shares of Valaris from $61.00 to $55.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on Valaris in a report on Friday, December 6th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $40.00 price target on the stock. Evercore ISI cut Valaris from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $87.00 to $59.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Valaris from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Barclays reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $49.00 price target (down previously from $59.00) on shares of Valaris in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $56.83.

Valaris Stock Up 4.2 %

Shares of NYSE VAL traded up $1.78 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $44.60. 3,454,441 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,575,448. Valaris has a twelve month low of $39.90 and a twelve month high of $84.20. The company has a current ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 1.10. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $45.45 and a 200 day simple moving average of $50.85.

Valaris (NYSE:VAL) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.68. Valaris had a return on equity of 13.67% and a net margin of 47.52%. The business had revenue of $584.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $578.01 million. As a group, equities analysts expect that Valaris will post 4.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Valaris

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in VAL. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Valaris by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,454,159 shares of the company’s stock worth $285,532,000 after acquiring an additional 23,509 shares in the last quarter. Lingotto Investment Management LLP increased its stake in shares of Valaris by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Lingotto Investment Management LLP now owns 3,637,207 shares of the company’s stock worth $160,910,000 after purchasing an additional 87,420 shares during the last quarter. Condire Management LP raised its holdings in shares of Valaris by 34.1% in the 4th quarter. Condire Management LP now owns 2,618,678 shares of the company’s stock valued at $115,850,000 after purchasing an additional 665,718 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Valaris by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,446,006 shares of the company’s stock valued at $136,365,000 after purchasing an additional 112,216 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Valaris by 55.5% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,300,577 shares of the company’s stock worth $101,771,000 after purchasing an additional 821,304 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.