Short Interest in Valaris Limited (NYSE:VAL) Declines By 21.5%

Valaris Limited (NYSE:VAL - Get Free Report) saw a significant decline in short interest in May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 10,360,000 shares, a decline of 21.5% from the April 30th total of 13,200,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,100,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.9 days. Currently, 16.5% of the company's stock are short sold.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on Valaris from $55.00 to $50.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Citigroup dropped their target price on Valaris from $48.00 to $44.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Valaris to a "sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Barclays upped their target price on Valaris from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Susquehanna dropped their target price on Valaris from $47.00 to $34.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have issued a hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $49.17.

Valaris Stock Performance

NYSE VAL traded down $0.44 during trading on Thursday, reaching $39.45. 873,732 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,569,047. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $35.15 and a 200-day moving average price of $40.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.69 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 1.59 and a quick ratio of 1.61. Valaris has a fifty-two week low of $27.15 and a fifty-two week high of $84.20.

Valaris (NYSE:VAL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported ($0.53) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.10 by ($1.63). The business had revenue of $620.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $582.87 million. Valaris had a return on equity of 17.40% and a net margin of 15.81%. Valaris's revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Valaris will post 3.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Valaris

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of VAL. Dalal Street LLC acquired a new position in Valaris during the first quarter worth approximately $56,046,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Valaris by 55.5% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,300,577 shares of the company's stock valued at $101,771,000 after purchasing an additional 821,304 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Valaris in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,949,000. Condire Management LP grew its position in shares of Valaris by 34.1% in the fourth quarter. Condire Management LP now owns 2,618,678 shares of the company's stock valued at $115,850,000 after purchasing an additional 665,718 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tensile Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Valaris in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,912,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.74% of the company's stock.

About Valaris

Valaris Limited, together with its subsidiaries, provides offshore contract drilling services Gulf of Mexico, South America, North Sea, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. The company operates through four segments: Floaters, Jackups, ARO, and Other. It owns an offshore drilling rig fleet, which include drillships, dynamically positioned semisubmersible rigs, moored semisubmersible rig, and jackup rigs.