Valaris (NYSE:VAL) Sets New 1-Year Low After Analyst Downgrade

Shares of Valaris Limited (NYSE:VAL) hit a new 52-week low during trading on Wednesday after Barclays lowered their price target on the stock from $91.00 to $61.00. Barclays currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Valaris traded as low as $49.16 and last traded at $49.21, with a volume of 40122 shares. The stock had previously closed at $50.35.

VAL has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Pickering Energy Partners downgraded shares of Valaris from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Citigroup reduced their price target on Valaris from $95.00 to $71.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Benchmark lowered Valaris from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Susquehanna cut their target price on Valaris from $62.00 to $61.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $81.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Matthew Lyne sold 26,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 24,388 shares in the company, 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Valaris news, COO Gilles Luca sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 $6,160,326.12. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Matthew Lyne sold 26,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, 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 ninety days. 0.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Valaris

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Lee Johnson Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Valaris during the 1st quarter valued at about $7,355,000. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in Valaris by 699.3% in the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 16,881 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,270,000 after purchasing an additional 14,769 shares in the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in Valaris in the 1st quarter valued at $8,743,000. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Valaris during the 1st quarter valued at $582,000. Finally, Natixis bought a new position in shares of Valaris in the first quarter worth $730,000. 96.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Valaris Stock Down 1.7 %

The stock has a 50-day moving average of $56.83 and a 200-day moving average of $67.14. The company has a quick ratio of 1.73, a current ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The company has a market cap of $3.58 billion, a PE ratio of 4.38 and a beta of 1.15.

Valaris (NYSE:VAL) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $2.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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. Sell-side analysts predict that Valaris Limited will post 4.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.