Valaris (NYSE:VAL) Shares Gap Up Following Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Valaris Limited (NYSE:VAL) shares gapped up prior to trading on Thursday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $42.82, but opened at $46.00. Valaris shares last traded at $44.25, with a volume of 592,465 shares.

The company reported $1.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.68. Valaris had a return on equity of 13.67% and a net margin of 47.52%. The firm had revenue of $584.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $578.01 million.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on VAL. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Valaris from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $49.00 price objective (down from $59.00) on shares of Valaris in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Susquehanna reduced their price objective on Valaris from $61.00 to $55.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com upgraded Valaris to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Evercore ISI downgraded Valaris from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock 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 data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $56.83.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Valaris

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in shares of Valaris by 14.5% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 143,399 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,344,000 after buying an additional 18,107 shares in the last quarter. Teza Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Valaris during the 4th quarter valued at about $923,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. lifted its position in shares of Valaris by 376.7% during the 4th quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 96,023 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,248,000 after buying an additional 130,723 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Valaris by 38.4% during the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 20,430 shares of the company’s stock valued at $904,000 after buying an additional 5,665 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Valaris by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 184,318 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,154,000 after buying an additional 588 shares in the last quarter. 96.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Valaris Trading Up 4.2 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a current ratio of 1.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.17 billion, a PE ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 1.10. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $45.45 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $50.85.

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.