Seadrill (NYSE:SDRL) Stock Jumps 5.3% - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• Seadrill shares rose 5.3% in mid-day trading to $51.80, although volume was 96% below the average session volume.
• Analysts remain broadly positive, with a consensus “Buy” rating and an average price target of $59.40; targets include $80 from BWS Financial and $55 from Capital One Financial.
• Seadrill beat quarterly expectations, reporting $0.47 EPS versus $0.29 expected and $430 million in revenue versus $388.46 million expected. Institutional investors own 95.67% of the company’s stock.

Seadrill Limited (NYSE:SDRL - Get Free Report)'s stock price shot up 5.3% during mid-day trading on Friday. The company traded as high as $50.95 and last traded at $51.80. Approximately 31,312 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 96% from the average session volume of 772,829 shares. The stock had previously closed at $49.19.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on SDRL. Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Seadrill in a report on Monday, September 7th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Seadrill from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research report on Friday, October 9th. Zacks Research cut shares of Seadrill from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 14th. BWS Financial reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $80.00 price target on shares of Seadrill in a report on Wednesday, October 14th. 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $59.40.

Seadrill Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 2.50 and a current ratio of 2.50. The firm has a market cap of $3.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 1,748.13 and a beta of 1.25. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $47.25 and its 200 day moving average price is $45.89.

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 for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $430.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $388.46 million. Seadrill had a net margin of 0.07% and a return on equity of 0.64%. Sell-side analysts expect that Seadrill Limited will post 0.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Seadrill

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. State of Wyoming bought a new position in shares of Seadrill in the 2nd quarter worth $55,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Seadrill during the 2nd quarter worth $92,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted 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 worth $113,000 after purchasing an additional 698 shares during the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP bought a new stake in Seadrill during the first quarter valued at about $205,000. Finally, Abel Hall LLC bought a new stake in Seadrill during the third quarter valued at about $210,000. Institutional investors own 95.67% of the company's stock.

About Seadrill

Seadrill Limited NYSE: SDRL is an offshore drilling contractor that provides drilling services to oil and gas companies. The company operates a fleet of mobile offshore drilling units, including ultra-deepwater drillships and semisubmersible rigs, which are used to explore for and develop hydrocarbon resources beneath the seabed.

Seadrill's services include contract drilling, rig operations, well construction support and related offshore services. Its modern, high-specification fleet is designed to work in challenging deepwater and harsh-environment locations.

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