Valaris (NYSE:VAL) Stock Rating Lowered by Zacks Research

Key Points

• Valaris has been downgraded by Zacks Research from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell," indicating a shift in analyst sentiment.
• There is a mixed outlook among analysts, with one rating it as a Buy, nine as Hold, and two as Sell, resulting in an overall average rating of "Reduce".
• The company's stock has shown resilience with a recent trading price of $52.31, alongside a strong earnings report exceeding expectations for the last quarter.

Valaris (NYSE:VAL - Get Free Report) was downgraded by research analysts at Zacks Research from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Clarkson Capital cut shares of Valaris from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $54.00 target price for the company. in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Capital One Financial set a $55.00 price objective on shares of Valaris in a report on Monday, September 15th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Valaris from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $50.00 price objective (up previously from $47.00) on shares of Valaris in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Fearnley Fonds cut shares of Valaris from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $48.19.

Valaris Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of Valaris stock opened at $52.31 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 1.81 and a quick ratio of 1.81. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $49.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $43.21. Valaris has a 1 year low of $27.15 and a 1 year high of $55.30. The stock has a market cap of $3.73 billion, a PE ratio of 13.62 and a beta of 1.15.

Valaris (NYSE:VAL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.16 by $0.45. Valaris had a net margin of 11.18% and a return on equity of 12.36%. The firm had revenue of $615.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $582.70 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.03 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Valaris will post 3.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Valaris

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Blume Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Valaris by 56.5% during the second quarter. Blume Capital Management Inc. now owns 665 shares of the company's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its stake in shares of Valaris by 77.9% during the second quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 822 shares of the company's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 360 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC increased its stake in shares of Valaris by 45.4% during the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 916 shares of the company's stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 286 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. purchased a new stake in shares of Valaris during the first quarter worth about $44,000. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its stake in shares of Valaris by 13,400.0% during the second quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,215 shares of the company's stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 1,206 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.

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