Valaris (NYSE:VAL) Downgraded by Benchmark to Hold

Benchmark downgraded shares of Valaris (NYSE:VAL) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Tuesday, Marketbeat.com reports.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Pickering Energy Partners lowered shares of Valaris from an outperform rating to a neutral rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Barclays reduced their price target on Valaris from $98.00 to $91.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Valaris from $95.00 to $71.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, Susquehanna decreased 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 research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Valaris presently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $86.33.

Valaris Stock Down 3.8 %

NYSE VAL opened at $50.27 on Tuesday. 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 52 week low of $49.62 and a 52 week high of $84.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.40 and a beta of 1.15. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $57.89 and a 200-day moving average of $67.80.

Valaris (NYSE:VAL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $2.03 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96 by $1.07. Valaris had a return on equity of 12.58% and a net margin of 49.33%. The firm had revenue of $610.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $545.00 million. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Valaris will post 4.37 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Valaris

In other Valaris news, COO Gilles Luca sold 30,000 shares of Valaris stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.86, for a total value of $1,705,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 108,342 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,160,326.12. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, COO Gilles Luca sold 30,000 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 108,342 shares in the company, valued at $6,160,326.12. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Davor Vukadin sold 15,403 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.64, for a total value of $872,425.92. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 71,403 shares of company stock worth $4,028,246. 0.12% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Valaris

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in VAL. NBC Securities Inc. increased its stake in Valaris by 55.6% in the 3rd quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 12,040 shares of the company’s stock valued at $671,000 after buying an additional 4,300 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning increased its position in shares of Valaris by 20.4% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 10,350 shares of the company’s stock valued at $577,000 after acquiring an additional 1,751 shares during the last quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Valaris by 44.5% during the third quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC now owns 4,595 shares of the company’s stock worth $256,000 after acquiring an additional 1,416 shares in the last quarter. Systrade AG acquired a new position in Valaris during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,123,000. Finally, Insight Wealth Strategies LLC grew its stake in Valaris by 23.2% in the third quarter. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 9,174 shares of the company’s stock valued at $511,000 after purchasing an additional 1,729 shares in the last quarter. 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.