Valaris (NYSE:VAL) Receives "Equal Weight" Rating from Barclays

Valaris (NYSE:VAL - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "equal weight" rating reiterated by research analysts at Barclays in a report released on Wednesday, MarketBeat.com reports. They presently have a $49.00 price target on the stock, down from their previous price target of $59.00. Barclays's price target points to a potential upside of 18.90% from the stock's current price.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on VAL. Susquehanna lowered their price objective on shares of Valaris from $61.00 to $55.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Benchmark lowered shares of Valaris from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Citigroup downgraded shares of Valaris from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $58.00 to $47.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of Valaris in a research note on Friday, December 6th. They issued an "underweight" rating and a $40.00 target price on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $64.33.

Valaris Trading Down 4.4 %

Shares of VAL traded down $1.88 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $41.21. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,189,949 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,132,586. The stock has a market cap of $2.93 billion, a PE ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. Valaris has a 52 week low of $41.02 and a 52 week high of $84.20. The company's fifty day moving average price is $48.38 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $60.16.

Insider Buying and Selling at Valaris

In other Valaris news, SVP Matthew Lyne sold 26,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.77, for a total transaction of $1,450,020.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 24,388 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,360,118.76. The trade was a 51.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Valaris

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of VAL. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in Valaris by 5.2% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 586,228 shares of the company's stock valued at $43,674,000 after acquiring an additional 29,128 shares during the period. Meixler Investment Management Ltd. increased its position in shares of Valaris by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter. Meixler Investment Management Ltd. now owns 34,044 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,536,000 after purchasing an additional 853 shares during the last quarter. Hosking Partners LLP increased its holdings in Valaris by 8.0% in the 2nd quarter. Hosking Partners LLP now owns 256,484 shares of the company's stock worth $19,108,000 after acquiring an additional 19,016 shares in the last quarter. nVerses Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Valaris in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $298,000. Finally, Mraz Amerine & Associates Inc. increased its holdings in Valaris by 124.2% in the 2nd quarter. Mraz Amerine & Associates Inc. now owns 43,057 shares of the company's stock worth $3,208,000 after acquiring an additional 23,855 shares in the last quarter. 96.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.