Valaris Limited (NYSE:VAL) Stock Now Rated "Reduce" by Wall Street Brokerages

Key Points

• Analysts give Valaris a “Reduce” consensus rating: Of six brokerages, five rate the stock “Hold” and one “Sell”; the average one-year price target is $76.33.
• In its latest quarter, Valaris reported EPS of $0.66, below the $1.06 consensus estimate, while revenue of $593.6 million exceeded expectations. Revenue declined 0.4% year over year.
• Recent ratings were mixed: Susquehanna raised its price target to $91 and maintained a neutral rating, while Wall Street Zen downgraded Valaris to “Sell.”

Shares of Valaris Limited (NYSE:VAL - Get Free Report) have earned a consensus recommendation of "Reduce" from the six brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation and five have assigned a hold recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $76.33.

VAL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Susquehanna raised their target price on Valaris from $86.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen downgraded Valaris from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, October 31st. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Valaris from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Monday, August 17th.

Valaris Stock Performance

NYSE:VAL opened at $79.88 on Friday. Valaris has a 1-year low of $48.08 and a 1-year high of $114.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 1.55. The business has a 50 day moving average of $86.48 and a 200 day moving average of $86.43. The company has a market capitalization of $5.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.01 and a beta of 1.03.

Valaris (NYSE:VAL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, November 2nd. The company reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.06 by ($0.40). Valaris had a net margin of 37.35% and a return on equity of 4.26%. The firm had revenue of $593.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $562.70 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.65 EPS. The company's revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Valaris will post 3.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Valaris

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Valaris by 3.5% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,349,443 shares of the company's stock valued at $328,382,000 after purchasing an additional 114,730 shares during the period. HBK Investments L P acquired a new position in shares of Valaris during the second quarter worth about $114,355,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund increased its position in Valaris by 67.8% during the first quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 1,363,230 shares of the company's stock worth $133,651,000 after acquiring an additional 550,987 shares during the period. Goehring & Rozencwajg Associates LLC lifted its stake in shares of Valaris by 24.2% in the first quarter. Goehring & Rozencwajg Associates LLC now owns 1,319,351 shares of the company's stock worth $129,349,000 after acquiring an additional 257,281 shares during the period. Finally, Whitebox Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Valaris during the first quarter valued at approximately $57,249,000. 96.74% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Valaris

Valaris plc is an offshore contract drilling company that provides drilling services to oil and gas operators worldwide. The company works with customers to support offshore exploration, appraisal and development programs in shallow-water and deepwater environments.

Valaris operates a fleet that includes drillships, semisubmersible rigs and jackup rigs. Its services include mobile offshore drilling, well construction support and related rig-management and operational services. The company's fleet is designed to serve a range of offshore projects, from conventional shelf developments to technically demanding deepwater wells.

With operations spanning major offshore energy regions, Valaris has served customers in areas including the Gulf of Mexico, the North Sea, Brazil, West Africa, the Middle East and the Asia-Pacific region.

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