Valaris (NYSE:VAL) Reaches New 1-Year Low on Analyst Downgrade

Valaris Limited (NYSE:VAL)’s share price reached a new 52-week low on Monday after Susquehanna lowered their price target on the stock from $62.00 to $61.00. Susquehanna currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Valaris traded as low as $51.68 and last traded at $51.68, with a volume of 185394 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $52.93.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $90.00 price target on shares of Valaris in a report on Monday, August 5th. Barclays reduced their price target 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. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Valaris from $95.00 to $71.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, Pickering Energy Partners cut shares of Valaris from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and five have issued 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 $86.33.

Insider Transactions at Valaris

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 transaction of $872,425.92. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 13,334 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $755,237.76. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 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 transaction of $872,425.92. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 13,334 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $755,237.76. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Matthew Lyne sold 26,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.77, for a total transaction of $1,450,020.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 24,388 shares in the company, valued at $1,360,118.76. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 71,403 shares of company stock valued at $4,028,246 over the last 90 days. 0.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Valaris

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of VAL. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Valaris by 180.8% in the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 365 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 235 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Valaris in the first quarter valued at $149,000. Choreo LLC acquired a new position in shares of Valaris in the second quarter valued at $204,000. Evergreen Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Valaris in the second quarter valued at $204,000. Finally, Scientech Research LLC acquired a new position in shares of Valaris in the second quarter valued at $211,000. 96.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Valaris Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $3.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.57 and a beta of 1.15. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $58.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $67.98. 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 (NYSE:VAL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $2.03 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.96 by $1.07. Valaris had a net margin of 49.33% and a return on equity of 12.58%. The business had revenue of $610.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $545.00 million. On average, equities research analysts expect that Valaris Limited will post 4.37 earnings per share for the current year.

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.