Wall Street Zen Upgrades Valaris (NYSE:VAL) to Hold

Key Points

• Valaris stock has been upgraded from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating by analysts at Wall Street Zen, indicating a shift in market sentiment.
• For the most recent quarter, Valaris reported an EPS of $1.61, exceeding analysts' expectations of $1.16, along with a revenue of $615.20 million.
• The stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a target price of $46.20, with 96.74% of its shares owned by institutional investors.

Valaris (NYSE:VAL - Get Free Report) was upgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report released on Saturday.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on VAL. Barclays raised their price objective on Valaris from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. BTIG Research reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Valaris in a report on Monday, July 14th. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on Valaris from $55.00 to $50.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $50.00 target price (up previously from $47.00) on shares of Valaris in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Susquehanna increased their price target on Valaris from $46.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $47.21.

Valaris Price Performance

Shares of VAL traded up $0.65 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $49.78. The company had a trading volume of 564,563 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,714,898. The company has a market capitalization of $3.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.97 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 1.81 and a current ratio of 1.81. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $47.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $41.03. Valaris has a 1-year low of $27.15 and a 1-year high of $58.67.

Valaris (NYSE:VAL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.61 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $615.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $582.70 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.03 EPS. The firm's revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Valaris will post 3.96 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Valaris

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Schf GPE LLC bought a new stake in Valaris during the 2nd quarter valued at $77,675,000. Dalal Street LLC purchased a new position in shares of Valaris in the first quarter valued at $56,046,000. Condire Management LP raised its stake in shares of Valaris by 34.1% during the 4th 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 period. Tensile Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Valaris during the 1st quarter worth about $25,912,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in Valaris by 491.1% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 681,067 shares of the company's stock worth $28,680,000 after purchasing an additional 565,856 shares in the last quarter. 96.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Valaris Company Profile

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.