Valaris (NYSE:VAL) Trading 8.6% Higher - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• Valaris Limited's stock price increased by 8.6% during mid-day trading, reaching $53.78 after closing at $49.51.
• Analysts have mixed ratings for Valaris, with Zacks Research downgrading it to a strong sell, while Citigroup raised its price target to $55.00 and maintained a neutral rating.
• Valaris reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings with $1.61 earnings per share, outperforming the anticipated $1.16 by $0.45, and recorded a revenue of $615.20 million.

Shares of Valaris Limited (NYSE:VAL - Get Free Report) shot up 8.6% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $53.81 and last traded at $53.78. 962,654 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 40% from the average session volume of 1,613,085 shares. The stock had previously closed at $49.51.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on VAL. Zacks Research lowered Valaris from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Valaris from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Susquehanna boosted their price target on Valaris from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Valaris from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 30th. Finally, BTIG Research restated a "buy" rating on shares of Valaris in a report on Monday, July 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $48.69.

Valaris Stock Up 11.8%

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 stock's fifty day simple moving average is $49.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $43.98. The stock has a market cap of $3.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.42 and a beta of 1.15.

Valaris (NYSE:VAL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.61 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.16 by $0.45. The company had revenue of $615.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $582.70 million. Valaris had a return on equity of 12.36% and a net margin of 11.18%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.03 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Valaris Limited will post 3.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Prudential Financial Inc. lifted its position in Valaris by 4.1% during the 2nd quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 5,885 shares of the company's stock worth $248,000 after acquiring an additional 230 shares during the last quarter. Blume Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in 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 buying an additional 240 shares during the last quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama grew its stake in Valaris by 0.4% during the second quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 79,913 shares of the company's stock worth $3,365,000 after buying an additional 279 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Valaris by 11.8% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,660 shares of the company's stock worth $130,000 after buying an additional 281 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bayforest Capital Ltd grew its stake in Valaris by 17.2% during the first quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 1,920 shares of the company's stock worth $75,000 after buying an additional 282 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.74% of the company's stock.

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.

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