Valaris (NYSE:VAL) Downgraded by Benchmark

Valaris (NYSE:VAL) was downgraded by investment analysts at Benchmark from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Tuesday, Briefing.com reports.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on VAL. Citigroup reduced their target price on Valaris from $95.00 to $71.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Susquehanna decreased their price objective on Valaris from $62.00 to $61.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Valaris from $98.00 to $91.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Pickering Energy Partners cut shares of Valaris from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $86.33.

Valaris Stock Performance

Shares of VAL opened at $52.23 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.73, a current ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. Valaris has a 52-week low of $51.55 and a 52-week high of $84.20. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $58.14 and a 200 day moving average price of $67.98. The company has a market capitalization of $3.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.57 and a beta of 1.15.

Valaris (NYSE:VAL) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $2.03 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96 by $1.07. Valaris had a net margin of 49.33% and a return on equity of 12.58%. The firm had revenue of $610.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $545.00 million. Research analysts predict that Valaris will post 4.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Davor Vukadin sold 15,403 shares of Valaris stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.64, for a total value of $872,425.92. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 13,334 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $755,237.76. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Davor Vukadin sold 15,403 shares of Valaris stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.64, for a total value of $872,425.92. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 13,334 shares in the company, valued at $755,237.76. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Matthew Lyne sold 26,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.77, for a total value of $1,450,020.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 24,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,360,118.76. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. 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. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Lingotto Investment Management LLP boosted its stake in shares of Valaris by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Lingotto Investment Management LLP now owns 3,040,610 shares of the company’s stock worth $226,525,000 after acquiring an additional 36,870 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Valaris by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,893,667 shares of the company’s stock valued at $129,849,000 after acquiring an additional 77,490 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP grew its stake in Valaris by 5.9% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,882,846 shares of the company’s stock valued at $140,272,000 after acquiring an additional 105,330 shares during the last quarter. Condire Management LP increased its holdings in Valaris by 14.7% during the 1st quarter. Condire Management LP now owns 1,452,097 shares of the company’s stock valued at $109,285,000 after acquiring an additional 186,076 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Valaris by 23.4% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,188,973 shares of the company’s stock worth $88,573,000 after acquiring an additional 225,283 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.