Valaris (NYSE:VAL) Price Target Cut to $71.00

Valaris (NYSE:VAL) had its target price decreased by Citigroup from $95.00 to $71.00 in a research report sent to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. Citigroup currently has a buy rating on the stock.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. 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 restated a buy rating and set a $90.00 price objective on shares of Valaris in a report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Pickering Energy Partners cut Valaris from an outperform rating to a neutral rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Valaris has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $91.40.

Valaris Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of Valaris stock opened at $54.38 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $3.96 billion, a PE ratio of 4.76 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a quick ratio of 1.73, a current ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. Valaris has a fifty-two week low of $53.06 and a fifty-two week high of $84.20. The business’s fifty day moving average is $66.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $70.14.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Valaris news, SVP Davor Vukadin sold 15,403 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.64, for a total value of $872,425.92. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 13,334 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $755,237.76. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other 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 value of $872,425.92. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 13,334 shares in the company, valued at $755,237.76. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, COO Gilles Luca sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.86, for a total value of $1,705,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 108,342 shares in the company, valued at $6,160,326.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Valaris

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VAL. Lee Johnson Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Valaris in the 1st quarter worth $7,355,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Valaris in the fourth quarter worth about $43,282,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Valaris by 18.5% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 870,063 shares of the company’s stock valued at $59,662,000 after purchasing an additional 135,753 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in Valaris by 699.3% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 16,881 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,270,000 after purchasing an additional 14,769 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Valaris by 34.4% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 789,854 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,160,000 after purchasing an additional 202,074 shares during the last quarter. 96.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.