Brokerages Set Valaris Limited (NYSE:VAL) Price Target at $52.50

Valaris Limited (NYSE:VAL) has earned a consensus rating of “Reduce” from the seven ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation and six have assigned a hold recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $52.50.

A number of brokerages recently commented on VAL. StockNews.com upgraded Valaris to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Evercore ISI downgraded shares of Valaris from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $87.00 to $59.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Valaris from $48.00 to $44.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Susquehanna lowered their price target 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. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on Valaris from $46.00 to $35.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 7th.

Valaris Trading Up 5.2 %

NYSE:VAL opened at $31.61 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a current ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. Valaris has a 12 month low of $27.15 and a 12 month high of $84.20. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $38.72 and a 200-day simple moving average of $44.73.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Valaris by 202.7% during the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 10,490 shares of the company’s stock worth $591,000 after acquiring an additional 7,024 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new position in Valaris in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. State Street Corp boosted its position in 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. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC grew its holdings in Valaris by 64.5% in the third quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 16,066 shares of the company’s stock valued at $896,000 after purchasing an additional 6,299 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Valaris by 4.6% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,519,644 shares of the company’s stock valued at $84,736,000 after buying an additional 66,229 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.74% of the company’s stock.

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.