Valaris (NYSE:VAL) Downgraded to “Hold” at Benchmark

Benchmark lowered shares of Valaris (NYSE:VAL) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Barclays decreased their price objective on Valaris from $98.00 to $91.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 9th. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Valaris from $95.00 to $71.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Susquehanna decreased their target price on shares of Valaris from $62.00 to $61.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Finally, Pickering Energy Partners lowered shares of Valaris from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $86.33.

Valaris Stock Performance

Shares of VAL opened at $51.23 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $57.11 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $67.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 1.73 and a current ratio of 1.73. Valaris has a twelve month low of $49.62 and a twelve month high of $84.20. The firm has a market cap of $3.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.48 and a beta of 1.15.

Valaris (NYSE:VAL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $2.03 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 49.33% and a return on equity of 12.58%. On average, analysts forecast that Valaris will post 4.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Valaris

In other Valaris news, SVP Matthew Lyne sold 26,000 shares of Valaris stock in a transaction on Monday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.77, for a total transaction of $1,450,020.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 24,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,360,118.76. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Valaris news, SVP Matthew Lyne sold 26,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.77, for a total value of $1,450,020.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 24,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,360,118.76. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Davor Vukadin sold 15,403 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.64, for a total value of $872,425.92. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 13,334 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $755,237.76. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 71,403 shares of company stock worth $4,028,246. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Valaris by 1.0% in the first quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 16,124 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,213,000 after acquiring an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC raised its position in shares of Valaris by 3.0% in the first quarter. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 7,119 shares of the company’s stock valued at $536,000 after buying an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of Valaris by 1.2% in the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 18,244 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,359,000 after buying an additional 214 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Valaris by 180.8% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 365 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 235 shares in the last quarter. Finally, World Equity Group Inc. increased its stake in Valaris by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. World Equity Group Inc. now owns 12,827 shares of the company’s stock worth $956,000 after acquiring an additional 238 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.74% of the company’s stock.

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.