Valaris (NYSE:VAL) Price Target Lowered to $55.00 at Susquehanna

Valaris (NYSE:VAL) had its target price trimmed by Susquehanna from $61.00 to $55.00 in a research report released on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a neutral rating on the stock.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on VAL. Pickering Energy Partners downgraded Valaris from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Valaris from $95.00 to $71.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Valaris from $91.00 to $61.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Benchmark cut Valaris from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Valaris has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $80.33.

Valaris Stock Performance

Shares of VAL stock traded down $2.17 on Friday, hitting $48.43. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,702,927 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,428,664. Valaris has a fifty-two week low of $48.04 and a fifty-two week high of $84.20. The company has a market capitalization of $3.52 billion, a PE ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 1.17. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $54.53 and its 200-day moving average is $65.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.73 and a current ratio of 1.61.

Valaris (NYSE:VAL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $2.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.96 by $1.07. Valaris had a return on equity of 13.67% and a net margin of 47.52%. The business had revenue of $610.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $545.00 million. Equities research analysts expect that Valaris will post 4.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Valaris

In other news, COO Gilles Luca sold 30,000 shares of Valaris 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 completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 108,342 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,160,326.12. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Valaris news, SVP Davor Vukadin sold 15,403 shares of Valaris 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 13,334 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $755,237.76. 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 accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Gilles Luca sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 108,342 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,160,326.12. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 71,403 shares of company stock worth $4,028,246 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Valaris

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Fiera Capital Corp raised its holdings in Valaris by 2.3% during the third quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 283,854 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,825,000 after buying an additional 6,330 shares during the last quarter. Hara Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Valaris by 8.8% during the third quarter. Hara Capital LLC now owns 57,035 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,180,000 after acquiring an additional 4,616 shares in the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Valaris by 14.8% in the 3rd quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 137,572 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,670,000 after acquiring an additional 17,690 shares during the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted its position in Valaris by 14.3% in the 3rd quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 7,735 shares of the company’s stock valued at $431,000 after acquiring an additional 965 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System boosted its stake in Valaris by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 18,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,031,000 after purchasing an additional 900 shares during the last quarter. 96.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.