Seadrill (NYSE:SDRL) Sees Large Volume Increase - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• Seadrill shares traded heavily, with 712,873 shares changing hands, while the stock ended at $46.219, slightly below its prior close of $46.59.
• Analyst sentiment was generally positive: the consensus rating is “Moderate Buy” with a $55 price target, although Weiss Ratings maintained a “sell” rating. Individual targets ranged from $55 to $80.
• Seadrill beat quarterly expectations, reporting $0.47 EPS versus $0.29 expected and revenue of $430 million versus $388.46 million forecast. Institutional investors own 95.67% of the company, with several major funds building or initiating positions.

Shares of Seadrill Limited (NYSE:SDRL - Get Free Report) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Thursday . 712,873 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 12% from the previous session's volume of 814,488 shares.The stock last traded at $46.2190 and had previously closed at $46.59.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of Seadrill in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Barclays raised Seadrill from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their target price for the company from $41.00 to $59.00 in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Capital One Financial set a $55.00 price target on Seadrill and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. BWS Financial reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $80.00 price target on shares of Seadrill in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Fearnley Fonds upgraded shares of Seadrill from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $55.00.

Seadrill Stock Performance

The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $42.72 and a 200 day simple moving average of $44.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 2.50 and a quick ratio of 2.50. The firm has a market cap of $2.93 billion, a PE ratio of 1,560.17 and a beta of 1.21.

Seadrill (NYSE:SDRL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 10th. The oil and gas company reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $430.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $388.46 million. Seadrill had a return on equity of 0.64% and a net margin of 0.07%. Equities research analysts forecast that Seadrill Limited will post 0.37 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Seadrill

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Seadrill during the 2nd quarter valued at about $207,509,000. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of Seadrill by 3,584.1% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 2,686,014 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $101,585,000 after purchasing an additional 2,613,105 shares during the last quarter. Schf GPE LLC purchased a new position in Seadrill during the second quarter worth $60,132,000. Patient Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Seadrill during the 2nd quarter worth about $73,876,000. Finally, Webs Creek Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Seadrill in the second quarter worth about $49,368,299,000. 95.67% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Seadrill

Seadrill Limited, trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol SDRL, is a leading provider of offshore drilling services to the global oil and gas industry. The company specializes in the design, construction, deployment and operation of mobile offshore drilling units, serving major exploration and production companies with turnkey drilling solutions.

Seadrill’s fleet comprises ultra-deepwater drillships, semi-submersible rigs and high-specification jack-up units capable of operating in some of the world’s most challenging offshore environments.

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