Valaris (NYSE:VAL) Price Target Lowered to $44.00 at Citigroup

Valaris (NYSE:VAL) had its target price dropped by investment analysts at Citigroup from $48.00 to $44.00 in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “neutral” rating on the stock. Citigroup’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 9.03% from the company’s current price.

Several other analysts have also weighed in on VAL. 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 on the stock. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Valaris from $49.00 to $46.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Evercore ISI lowered shares of Valaris from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $87.00 to $59.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Susquehanna decreased their target price on shares of Valaris from $50.00 to $47.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Valaris to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $54.33.

Valaris Stock Performance

NYSE:VAL opened at $40.36 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $43.19 and its 200-day moving average is $47.34. Valaris has a 52-week low of $31.15 and a 52-week high of $84.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a current ratio of 1.59. The company has a market cap of $2.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.85 and a beta of 1.16.

Valaris (NYSE:VAL) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $578.01 million. Equities research analysts anticipate that Valaris will post 3.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Valaris

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Valaris by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,454,159 shares of the company’s stock worth $285,532,000 after purchasing an additional 23,509 shares in the last quarter. Lingotto Investment Management LLP lifted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 87,420 shares in the last quarter. Condire Management LP lifted its position in shares of Valaris by 34.1% during the fourth quarter. Condire Management LP now owns 2,618,678 shares of the company’s stock worth $115,850,000 after purchasing an additional 665,718 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Valaris by 4.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,446,006 shares of the company’s stock worth $136,365,000 after purchasing an additional 112,216 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position 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 purchasing an additional 821,304 shares in the last quarter. 96.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.