Valaris Limited (NYSE:VAL) Given Average Rating of “Reduce” by Brokerages

Shares of Valaris Limited (NYSE:VAL) have earned a consensus rating of “Reduce” from the seven analysts that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have assigned a hold rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $56.67.

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Susquehanna dropped their price objective on Valaris from $61.00 to $55.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Evercore ISI downgraded Valaris from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $87.00 to $59.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Citigroup cut Valaris from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $58.00 to $47.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Barclays reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $49.00 target price (down previously from $59.00) on shares of Valaris in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of Valaris in a report on Friday, December 6th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $40.00 price target for the company.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Valaris

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of VAL. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund bought a new position in shares of Valaris during the 2nd quarter worth about $28,884,000. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Valaris by 338.5% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 236,379 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,426,000 after purchasing an additional 182,467 shares during the period. Waverton Investment Management Ltd boosted its holdings in Valaris by 20.4% during the third quarter. Waverton Investment Management Ltd now owns 670,885 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,412,000 after purchasing an additional 113,509 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Valaris by 4.8% during the third 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Valaris in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $3,940,000. Institutional investors own 96.74% of the company’s stock.

Valaris Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of Valaris stock opened at $49.01 on Friday. Valaris has a 12-month low of $39.90 and a 12-month high of $84.20. The company has a quick ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $45.30 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $54.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 1.10.

Valaris (NYSE:VAL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.36 by ($0.48). The firm had revenue of $643.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $588.00 million. Valaris had a return on equity of 13.67% and a net margin of 47.52%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.17 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Valaris will post 4.59 earnings per share 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.