Susquehanna Cuts Valaris (NYSE:VAL) Price Target to $47.00

Valaris (NYSE:VAL) had its price target trimmed by Susquehanna from $50.00 to $47.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a neutral rating on the stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on VAL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on Valaris in a report on Friday, December 6th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $40.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Valaris to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday. Barclays reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $49.00 price target (down from $59.00) on shares of Valaris in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. 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 report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Evercore ISI downgraded Valaris from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and cut their price target for the company from $87.00 to $59.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $55.50.

Valaris Price Performance

Valaris stock opened at $41.80 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.97 billion, a PE ratio of 8.13 and a beta of 1.10. Valaris has a 52 week low of $39.90 and a 52 week high of $84.20. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $45.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $50.53. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $584.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $578.01 million. On average, equities research analysts predict that Valaris will post 3.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Valaris

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Valaris by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,454,159 shares of the company’s stock worth $285,532,000 after buying an additional 23,509 shares during the period. Lingotto Investment Management LLP raised its holdings in shares of Valaris by 2.5% in 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 period. 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 worth $115,850,000 after purchasing an additional 665,718 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Valaris by 55.5% during the 4th 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.