Valaris (NYSE:VAL) Shares Gap Down to $76.66

Valaris Limited (NYSE:VAL - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped down before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $76.66, but opened at $74.74. Valaris shares last traded at $74.04, with a volume of 180,816 shares traded.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on Valaris from $107.00 to $105.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 23rd. Barclays lowered their target price on Valaris from $105.00 to $102.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. TheStreet raised Valaris from a "c" rating to a "b-" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com raised Valaris to a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $100.00.

Valaris Trading Down 4.3 %

The business has a 50 day moving average of $67.84 and a 200 day moving average of $68.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 1.71 and a quick ratio of 1.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.28 and a beta of 1.13.

Valaris (NYSE:VAL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The company reported $0.61 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.32. The firm had revenue of $483.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $484.00 million. Valaris had a return on equity of 5.71% and a net margin of 48.50%. As a group, research analysts predict that Valaris Limited will post 4.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Valaris by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,893,667 shares of the company's stock valued at $129,849,000 after purchasing an additional 77,490 shares in the last quarter. FIL Ltd raised its holdings in Valaris by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 563,679 shares of the company's stock worth $38,651,000 after acquiring an additional 6,193 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in Valaris by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 32,651 shares of the company's stock worth $2,239,000 after buying an additional 1,297 shares during the last quarter. Condire Management LP grew its position in shares of Valaris by 53.0% in the fourth quarter. Condire Management LP now owns 1,266,021 shares of the company's stock valued at $86,811,000 after purchasing an additional 438,731 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Townsquare Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Valaris in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $5,242,000. 96.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.