Valaris (NYSE:VAL) Trading Down 3.5% – Should You Sell?

Valaris Limited (NYSE:VAL)’s stock price was down 3.5% on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $39.46 and last traded at $39.24. Approximately 38,983 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 97% from the average daily volume of 1,359,249 shares. The stock had previously closed at $40.64.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on VAL shares. Susquehanna decreased their price target on Valaris from $50.00 to $47.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Barclays decreased their target price on Valaris from $49.00 to $46.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Evercore ISI lowered shares of Valaris from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $87.00 to $59.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Valaris from $48.00 to $44.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Valaris to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $54.33.

Valaris Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $2.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.78 and a beta of 1.16. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $41.91 and its 200-day moving average is $46.30. The company has a quick ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48.

Valaris (NYSE:VAL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.68. Valaris had a net margin of 15.81% and a return on equity of 17.40%. The company had revenue of $584.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $578.01 million. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Valaris Limited will post 3.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Valaris

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Lingotto Investment Management LLP raised its stake in shares of Valaris by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Lingotto Investment Management LLP now owns 3,637,207 shares of the company’s stock valued at $160,910,000 after purchasing an additional 87,420 shares in the last quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP bought a new stake in Valaris in the 4th quarter valued at $611,000. Centiva Capital LP acquired a new position in shares of Valaris in the 3rd quarter valued at $930,000. XTX Topco Ltd bought a new position in shares of Valaris during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,862,000. Finally, Waverton Investment Management Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Valaris by 12.7% during the 4th quarter. Waverton Investment Management Ltd now owns 756,135 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,451,000 after acquiring an additional 85,250 shares during the period. 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.