Seadrill (NYSE:SDRL) Rating Increased to Overweight at Barclays

Key Points

• Barclays upgraded Seadrill from "equal weight" to "overweight" and set a $59 price target, implying about a 22% upside from the prior close.
• Analyst coverage is mixed but tilted positive with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $55 (one Strong Buy, three Buy, three Hold, one Sell).
• Seadrill beat the recent quarter's estimates (EPS $0.12 vs. $0.07 and revenue above forecasts), but the company still shows a negative net margin and negative return on equity.

Seadrill (NYSE:SDRL - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Barclays from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating in a note issued to investors on Thursday. The firm currently has a $59.00 target price on the oil and gas company's stock. Barclays's price objective would suggest a potential upside of 22.15% from the stock's previous close.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Seadrill from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. BWS Financial reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $80.00 target price on shares of Seadrill in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. BTIG Research raised their price target on Seadrill from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 17th. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of Seadrill in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Finally, Zacks Research raised Seadrill from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $55.00.

Seadrill Trading Down 1.2%

SDRL opened at $48.30 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.03, a current ratio of 2.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. Seadrill has a 52 week low of $22.30 and a 52 week high of $50.24. The business's 50 day moving average is $45.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $38.23. The firm has a market cap of $3.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -38.95 and a beta of 1.25.

Seadrill (NYSE:SDRL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The oil and gas company reported $0.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.07 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $362.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $335.36 million. Seadrill had a negative net margin of 5.36% and a negative return on equity of 2.07%. On average, research analysts predict that Seadrill will post 0.76 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Monaco Asset Management SAM boosted its holdings in Seadrill by 23.7% during the third quarter. Monaco Asset Management SAM now owns 266,047 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $8,037,000 after buying an additional 51,047 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in Seadrill by 64.4% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 884,430 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $26,719,000 after buying an additional 346,409 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in Seadrill in the third quarter valued at about $758,000. DNB Asset Management AS lifted its position in shares of Seadrill by 37.3% during the 3rd quarter. DNB Asset Management AS now owns 815,644 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $24,641,000 after acquiring an additional 221,388 shares during the period. Finally, Packer & Co Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Seadrill during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $13,597,000. 95.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Seadrill Company Profile

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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