Zacks Research Upgrades Seadrill (NYSE:SDRL) to Strong Sell

Key Points

• Zacks Research has upgraded Seadrill's stock rating to a "strong sell," indicating a notably negative outlook.
• Multiple analysts have set target prices for Seadrill, with a high of $80.00 and an average target price of $48.00, while the stock opened at $29.38.
• Seadrill reported a loss of ($0.68) earnings per share for its latest quarter, significantly missing analysts' expectations of a positive earnings report.

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Seadrill (NYSE:SDRL - Free Report) to a strong sell rating in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities analysts also recently weighed in on SDRL. BWS Financial reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $80.00 price target on shares of Seadrill in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. BTIG Research set a $28.00 price target on Seadrill in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $36.00 price objective (up previously from $35.00) on shares of Seadrill in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, Fearnley Fonds cut shares of Seadrill from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $48.00.

Seadrill Stock Up 1.6%

NYSE:SDRL traded up $0.45 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $29.46. 1,008,525 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 841,207. Seadrill has a twelve month low of $17.74 and a twelve month high of $45.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.87 and a quick ratio of 1.87. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $28.72 and a 200 day moving average of $26.36. The stock has a market cap of $1.83 billion, a PE ratio of 26.30 and a beta of 1.61.

Seadrill (NYSE:SDRL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The oil and gas company reported ($0.68) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.68 by ($1.36). Seadrill had a return on equity of 1.58% and a net margin of 5.68%. The firm had revenue of $377.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $365.73 million. On average, equities analysts expect that Seadrill will post 1.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Seadrill

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its stake in shares of Seadrill by 64.5% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 6,449 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $169,000 after buying an additional 2,529 shares in the last quarter. Schf GPE LLC bought a new position in shares of Seadrill in the second quarter valued at $60,132,000. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC lifted its holdings in Seadrill by 31.2% during the 2nd quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 28,858 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $758,000 after purchasing an additional 6,869 shares during the last quarter. Hara Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Seadrill by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter. Hara Capital LLC now owns 33,707 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $885,000 after purchasing an additional 716 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boothbay Fund Management LLC acquired a new stake in Seadrill during the 2nd quarter valued at $404,000. 95.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Seadrill Company Profile

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.