Seadrill Limited (NYSE:SDRL) Receives Average Recommendation of "Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts rate Seadrill “Buy” on average: Of nine brokerages, four issued strong-buy ratings, three buy ratings, one hold and one sell. The average 12-month price target is $59.40, compared with a share price of $46.75.
• Institutional ownership is substantial: Institutional investors own 95.67% of Seadrill, with BlackRock initiating a roughly $207.5 million position and several other major investors increasing their stakes.
• Seadrill exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $0.47 in EPS versus a $0.29 consensus and revenue of $430 million versus the $388.46 million estimate.

Seadrill Limited (NYSE:SDRL - Get Free Report) has earned an average rating of "Buy" from the nine brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $59.40.

SDRL has been the subject of several analyst reports. Capital One Financial set a $55.00 target price on shares of Seadrill and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Seadrill in a research report on Monday, September 7th. Zacks Research upgraded Seadrill from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, September 14th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of Seadrill in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, BWS Financial restated a "buy" rating and set a $80.00 price objective on shares of Seadrill in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of SDRL. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Seadrill in the 2nd quarter valued at about $207,509,000. Elliott Investment Management L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Seadrill by 3.5% in the first quarter. Elliott Investment Management L.P. now owns 4,719,085 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $214,718,000 after acquiring an additional 160,327 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Seadrill by 10.1% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,553,281 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $161,671,000 after acquiring an additional 326,835 shares during the period. Goehring & Rozencwajg Associates LLC boosted its holdings in Seadrill by 27.6% in the first quarter. Goehring & Rozencwajg Associates LLC now owns 2,449,565 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $111,455,000 after acquiring an additional 529,884 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Patient Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Seadrill during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $73,876,000. 95.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Seadrill Price Performance

SDRL stock opened at $46.75 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $46.04 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $45.52. The stock has a market cap of $2.92 billion, a PE ratio of 1,558.33 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a current ratio of 2.50, a quick ratio of 2.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. Seadrill has a 1 year low of $28.10 and a 1 year high of $55.47.

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

Seadrill Company Profile

Seadrill Limited is an offshore drilling contractor that provides drilling services to international oil and gas companies. The company operates and manages offshore drilling units, including drillships and semisubmersible rigs, for exploration, development and production projects in deepwater and harsh-environment locations.

Its services include contract drilling, rig operations, well construction support and related offshore services. Seadrill's activities have historically covered major offshore energy regions such as the North Sea, the Gulf of Mexico, Brazil and other markets in the Atlantic and international offshore basins.

Founded in 2005 and headquartered in Hamilton, Bermuda, Seadrill has expanded through fleet investments and industry transactions.

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