Valaris (NYSE:VAL) Sets New 12-Month Low on Analyst Downgrade

Valaris Limited (NYSE:VAL - Get Free Report)'s stock price reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Wednesday after Barclays lowered their price target on the stock from $91.00 to $61.00. Barclays currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Valaris traded as low as $49.16 and last traded at $49.21, with a volume of 40122 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $50.35.

VAL has been the subject of several other reports. Citigroup reduced their price target on Valaris from $95.00 to $71.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Susquehanna reduced their price target on Valaris from $62.00 to $61.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Pickering Energy Partners cut Valaris from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Finally, Benchmark cut Valaris from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Valaris currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $81.33.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Gilles Luca sold 30,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.86, for a total value of $1,705,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 108,342 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,160,326.12. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, SVP Matthew Lyne sold 26,000 shares of Valaris stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.77, for a total transaction of $1,450,020.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 24,388 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,360,118.76. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Gilles Luca sold 30,000 shares of Valaris stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.86, for a total value of $1,705,800.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 108,342 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,160,326.12. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 71,403 shares of company stock valued at $4,028,246 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Valaris

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Valaris by 180.8% during the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 365 shares of the company's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 235 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in Valaris during the 1st quarter worth $149,000. Evergreen Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Valaris during the 2nd quarter worth $204,000. Choreo LLC bought a new position in Valaris during the 2nd quarter worth $204,000. Finally, Scientech Research LLC bought a new position in Valaris during the 2nd quarter worth $211,000. 96.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Valaris Stock Performance

The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $56.56 and a 200 day simple moving average of $66.98. The company has a current ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The stock has a market cap of $3.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.31 and a beta of 1.15.

Valaris (NYSE:VAL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $2.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.96 by $1.07. Valaris had a return on equity of 12.58% and a net margin of 49.33%. The company had revenue of $610.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $545.00 million. On average, equities analysts expect that Valaris Limited will post 4.37 earnings per share for the current year.

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.