Valaris (NYSE:VAL) Sets New 12-Month Low - Time to Sell?

Valaris Limited (NYSE:VAL - Get Free Report)'s share price hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $30.59 and last traded at $30.25, with a volume of 1322601 shares. The stock had previously closed at $34.50.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays lowered their target price on Valaris from $46.00 to $35.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Citigroup cut their price objective on Valaris from $48.00 to $44.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. StockNews.com raised Valaris to a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Susquehanna dropped their target price on Valaris from $50.00 to $47.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered Valaris from an "outperform" rating to an "in-line" rating and reduced their price target for the company from $87.00 to $59.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have assigned a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Valaris has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $52.50.

Valaris Stock Up 15.1 %

The company has a market cap of $2.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.48 and a beta of 1.06. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $39.98 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $45.37. The company has a quick ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48.

Valaris (NYSE:VAL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.68. Valaris had a return on equity of 17.40% and a net margin of 15.81%. The firm had revenue of $584.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $578.01 million. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Valaris Limited will post 3.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Valaris by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,454,159 shares of the company's stock valued at $285,532,000 after purchasing an additional 23,509 shares during the last quarter. Lingotto Investment Management LLP grew its holdings in Valaris by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Lingotto Investment Management LLP now owns 3,637,207 shares of the company's stock valued at $160,910,000 after buying an additional 87,420 shares during the last quarter. Condire Management LP grew its holdings in Valaris by 34.1% in the 4th quarter. Condire Management LP now owns 2,618,678 shares of the company's stock valued at $115,850,000 after buying an additional 665,718 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in Valaris by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,446,006 shares of the company's stock worth $136,365,000 after buying an additional 112,216 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Valaris by 55.5% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,300,577 shares of the company's stock worth $101,771,000 after buying an additional 821,304 shares during the last quarter. 96.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.