Valaris (NYSE:VAL) Reaches New 12-Month Low Following Analyst Downgrade

Valaris Limited (NYSE:VAL)’s share price reached a new 52-week low on Tuesday after Barclays lowered their price target on the stock from $49.00 to $46.00. Barclays currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. Valaris traded as low as $39.31 and last traded at $39.66, with a volume of 419876 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $40.89.

Several other analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Susquehanna dropped their price target 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. Evercore ISI cut shares of Valaris from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $87.00 to $59.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of Valaris in a research note on Friday, December 6th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $40.00 price target for the company. Citigroup increased their price objective 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, StockNews.com raised shares of Valaris to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Valaris currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $55.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Valaris

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in VAL. Centiva Capital LP acquired a new stake in Valaris during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $930,000. XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new stake in Valaris during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,862,000. Diversify Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in Valaris by 14.8% during the 3rd quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 137,572 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,670,000 after buying an additional 17,690 shares in the last quarter. Waverton Investment Management Ltd lifted its holdings in Valaris by 20.4% during the 3rd quarter. Waverton Investment Management Ltd now owns 670,885 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,412,000 after buying an additional 113,509 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D lifted its holdings in Valaris by 19.8% during the 3rd quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 31,391 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,750,000 after buying an additional 5,184 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.74% of the company’s stock.

Valaris Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $2.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.52 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $45.29 and its 200-day simple moving average is $50.18.

Valaris (NYSE:VAL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $1.88 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $584.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $578.01 million. Analysts predict that Valaris Limited will post 3.96 EPS 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.