Valaris Limited (NYSE:VAL) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Valaris Limited (NYSE:VAL) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the seven ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $86.50.

A number of equities research analysts have commented on VAL shares. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $90.00 target price on shares of Valaris in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Citigroup lowered their target price on Valaris from $95.00 to $71.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Susquehanna initiated coverage on Valaris in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $62.00 price target for the company. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Valaris from $98.00 to $91.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Pickering Energy Partners lowered shares of Valaris from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th.

Valaris Stock Performance

Shares of VAL opened at $56.06 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $4.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.90 and a beta of 1.17. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $62.84 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $69.40. Valaris has a 12 month low of $53.06 and a 12 month high of $84.20. The company has a current ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49.

Valaris (NYSE:VAL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $2.03 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.96 by $1.07. The company had revenue of $610.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $545.00 million. Valaris had a return on equity of 12.58% and a net margin of 49.33%. Research analysts anticipate that Valaris will post 4.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 13,334 shares in the company, valued at approximately $755,237.76. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, 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 transaction of $1,705,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 108,342 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,160,326.12. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Davor Vukadin sold 15,403 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.64, for a total transaction of $872,425.92. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 13,334 shares in the company, valued at approximately $755,237.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Valaris

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Valaris by 180.8% in the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 365 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 235 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. grew its position in Valaris by 88.3% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,747 shares of the company’s stock valued at $120,000 after acquiring an additional 819 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in Valaris in the 1st quarter worth about $149,000. Choreo LLC bought a new stake in Valaris during the 2nd quarter valued at about $204,000. Finally, Evergreen Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Valaris in the 2nd quarter valued at about $204,000. 96.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.