Fearnley Fonds Downgrades Seadrill (NYSE:SDRL) to Hold

Key Points

• Seadrill's stock was downgraded from a "strong-buy" to a "hold" rating by Fearnley Fonds, indicating a potential shift in investor sentiment.
• The company reported a loss of ($0.23) earnings per share, missing analysts' expectations, despite achieving revenues of $335.00 million in the last quarter.
• Institutional investors hold a significant majority, with 95.67% of Seadrill's stock owned by such investors and hedge funds, reflecting strong institutional interest in the company.

Fearnley Fonds downgraded shares of Seadrill (NYSE:SDRL - Free Report) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a report published on Wednesday, July 30th,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on SDRL. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $36.00 price objective (up from $35.00) on shares of Seadrill in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. BWS Financial restated a "buy" rating and issued a $80.00 target price on shares of Seadrill in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, BTIG Research set a $28.00 price target on shares of Seadrill in a report on Monday, May 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $51.00.

Seadrill Price Performance

NYSE:SDRL traded down $0.06 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $29.73. 1,101,173 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,020,309. The company has a market capitalization of $1.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.62 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 2.01 and a quick ratio of 2.01. The business has a 50 day moving average of $27.96 and a 200 day moving average of $26.82. Seadrill has a 1-year low of $17.74 and a 1-year high of $47.08.

Seadrill (NYSE:SDRL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 12th. The oil and gas company reported ($0.23) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.25 by ($0.48). Seadrill had a net margin of 27.49% and a return on equity of 4.68%. The firm had revenue of $335.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $325.69 million. Research analysts forecast that Seadrill will post 1.86 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Seadrill

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. LPL Financial LLC grew its holdings in Seadrill by 409.8% during the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 57,543 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $2,240,000 after buying an additional 46,255 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Seadrill by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 540,864 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $21,056,000 after purchasing an additional 16,230 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Seadrill by 134.8% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 206,738 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $8,048,000 after purchasing an additional 118,699 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Seadrill during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,104,000. Finally, Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Seadrill in the 4th quarter valued at about $520,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.67% of the company's stock.

About Seadrill

Seadrill Ltd. engages in the provision of offshore drilling services to the oil and gas industry. It operates through the following segments: Floaters, Jack-up rigs, and Other. The Floaters segment encompasses drilling, completion, and maintenance of offshore exploration and production wells. the Jack-up Rigs segment includes drilling contracts relate to jack-up rigs for operations in harsh and benign environments in shallow water.