Citigroup Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Valaris (NYSE:VAL) Stock Price

Valaris (NYSE:VAL) had its price objective lowered by investment analysts at Citigroup from $48.00 to $44.00 in a report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “neutral” rating on the stock. Citigroup’s price target suggests a potential upside of 7.68% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other brokerages have also recently weighed in on VAL. Susquehanna dropped their price objective on shares of Valaris from $50.00 to $47.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on shares of Valaris in a research note on Friday, December 6th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $40.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com raised shares of Valaris to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Valaris from $49.00 to $46.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut shares of Valaris from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $87.00 to $59.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $54.33.

Valaris Stock Performance

NYSE VAL traded up $1.35 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $40.86. 736,690 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,922,719. The company has a market cap of $2.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.95 and a beta of 1.16. Valaris has a 12-month low of $31.15 and a 12-month high of $84.20. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $43.39 and a 200 day moving average of $47.44. The company has a quick ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48.

Valaris (NYSE:VAL) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.68. Valaris had a net margin of 15.81% and a return on equity of 17.40%. The company had revenue of $584.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $578.01 million. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Valaris will post 3.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Valaris

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Quarry LP boosted its position in Valaris by 51.7% during the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 684 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 233 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its holdings in shares of Valaris by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 19,002 shares of the company’s stock valued at $841,000 after purchasing an additional 237 shares during the last quarter. Xponance Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Valaris by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 9,273 shares of the company’s stock valued at $410,000 after purchasing an additional 487 shares during the last quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System boosted its holdings in shares of Valaris by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 15,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $686,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Valaris by 41.0% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,758 shares of the company’s stock valued at $78,000 after purchasing an additional 511 shares during the last quarter. 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.