Seadrill (NYSE:SDRL) Cut to "Hold" at Zacks Research

Key Points

• Zacks Research downgraded Seadrill to “Hold” from “Strong Buy,” although the broader analyst consensus remains “Buy” with an average price target of $59.40.
• Seadrill shares opened at $46.29 and were down 1.5%, with a 12-month trading range of $28.10 to $55.47 and a market capitalization of approximately $2.90 billion.
• The company exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $0.47 in EPS versus the $0.29 consensus and revenue of $430 million versus estimates of $388.46 million; institutional investors own 95.67% of its shares.

Seadrill (NYSE:SDRL - Get Free Report) was downgraded by stock analysts at Zacks Research from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report released on Wednesday, Zacks reports.

SDRL has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Seadrill in a research report on Monday, September 7th. BWS Financial reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $80.00 price target on shares of Seadrill in a report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings upgraded Seadrill from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a report on Friday, October 9th. Finally, Capital One Financial set a $55.00 price target on shares of Seadrill and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Seadrill presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $59.40.

Seadrill Trading Down 1.5%

Shares of SDRL opened at $46.29 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $47.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $45.78. Seadrill has a 12-month low of $28.10 and a 12-month high of $55.47. The company has a current ratio of 2.50, a quick ratio of 2.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 1,543.10 and a beta of 1.25.

Seadrill (NYSE:SDRL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 10th. The oil and gas company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.18. Seadrill had a net margin of 0.07% and a return on equity of 0.64%. The business had revenue of $430.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $388.46 million. Sell-side analysts forecast that Seadrill will post 0.98 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. State of Wyoming purchased a new position in shares of Seadrill during the second quarter valued at approximately $55,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Seadrill in the second quarter valued at $92,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Seadrill by 38.2% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,523 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $113,000 after acquiring an additional 698 shares during the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new position in Seadrill during the first quarter worth approximately $205,000. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC purchased a new position in shares of Seadrill in the 1st quarter worth $220,000. 95.67% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Seadrill

Seadrill Limited is an offshore drilling contractor that provides drilling services to oil and gas companies worldwide. The company operates and manages offshore drilling units, including drillships and semisubmersible rigs, used to explore for and develop oil and natural gas resources in deepwater and other challenging marine environments.

Its services include contract drilling, rig operations, well construction support and related offshore services. Seadrill's fleet is designed to serve a range of offshore projects, with operations and contract activity spanning major energy-producing regions such as the Gulf of Mexico, Brazil, the North Sea, West Africa and other international markets.

Seadrill was founded in 2005 and has expanded through fleet development, acquisitions and strategic transactions.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.