Valaris (NYSE:VAL) Earns Neutral Rating from Analysts at Susquehanna

Susquehanna assumed coverage on shares of Valaris (NYSE:VAL) in a report issued on Tuesday, Briefing.com reports. The firm set a “neutral” rating and a $62.00 price target on the stock. Susquehanna’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 11.81% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on the stock. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $90.00 price target on shares of Valaris in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Pickering Energy Partners cut shares of Valaris from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Valaris from $98.00 to $91.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price objective on Valaris from $95.00 to $71.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $86.50.

Valaris Stock Up 0.3 %

VAL stock opened at $55.45 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $65.15 and its 200 day moving average is $69.86. The stock has a market cap of $4.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.85 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a current ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. Valaris has a 1-year low of $53.06 and a 1-year high of $84.20.

Valaris (NYSE:VAL) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $2.03 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96 by $1.07. The business had revenue of $610.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $545.00 million. Valaris had a return on equity of 12.58% and a net margin of 49.33%. Sell-side analysts predict that Valaris will post 4.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Trading of Valaris

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of VAL. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Valaris by 180.8% in the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 365 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 235 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. grew its stake in Valaris by 88.3% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,747 shares of the company’s stock worth $120,000 after purchasing an additional 819 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in Valaris in the first quarter worth $149,000. Choreo LLC purchased a new position in Valaris during the second quarter valued at $204,000. Finally, Evergreen Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Valaris during the 2nd quarter valued at $204,000. 96.74% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.