Valaris (NYSE:VAL) Hits New 12-Month Low After Analyst Downgrade

Valaris Limited (NYSE:VAL - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Tuesday after Barclays lowered their price target on the stock from $49.00 to $46.00. Barclays currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. Valaris traded as low as $39.31 and last traded at $39.66, with a volume of 419876 shares. The stock had previously closed at $40.89.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on VAL. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Valaris to a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of Valaris in a research report on Friday, December 6th. They set an "underweight" rating and a $40.00 target price for the company. Susquehanna lowered their target price on shares of Valaris from $50.00 to $47.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 21st. Citigroup lifted their price target on Valaris from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Evercore ISI downgraded Valaris from an "outperform" rating to an "in-line" rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $87.00 to $59.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Valaris has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $55.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Valaris

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of VAL. Lingotto Investment Management LLP lifted its holdings in Valaris by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Lingotto Investment Management LLP now owns 3,637,207 shares of the company's stock worth $160,910,000 after acquiring an additional 87,420 shares during the period. Centiva Capital LP purchased a new stake in shares of Valaris during the 3rd quarter valued at $930,000. XTX Topco Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Valaris during the 3rd quarter worth $1,862,000. Waverton Investment Management Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Valaris by 20.4% in the 3rd quarter. Waverton Investment Management Ltd now owns 670,885 shares of the company's stock worth $37,412,000 after buying an additional 113,509 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D grew its position in Valaris by 19.8% during the third quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 31,391 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,750,000 after buying an additional 5,184 shares during the period. 96.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Valaris Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $2.54 billion, a PE ratio of 6.94 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 1.59 and a quick ratio of 1.61. The business's fifty day moving average is $45.01 and its 200-day moving average is $49.78.

Valaris (NYSE:VAL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.68. Valaris had a net margin of 15.81% and a return on equity of 17.40%. The company had revenue of $584.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $578.01 million. On average, research analysts predict that Valaris Limited will post 3.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.