Valaris (NYSE:VAL) Price Target Raised to $48.00

Valaris (NYSE:VAL) had its price objective boosted by analysts at Citigroup from $47.00 to $48.00 in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “neutral” rating on the stock. Citigroup’s price target would suggest a potential downside of 1.39% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on VAL. Barclays reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $49.00 price target (down from $59.00) on shares of Valaris in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. 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 price target on the stock. Susquehanna lowered their price objective on shares of Valaris from $61.00 to $55.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Benchmark lowered Valaris from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut shares of Valaris from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and reduced their price objective for the company 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, Valaris has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $56.83.

Valaris Price Performance

Shares of VAL traded up $1.36 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $48.68. The company had a trading volume of 855,499 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,494,568. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 1.61 and a quick ratio of 1.61. The company has a market capitalization of $3.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 1.10. Valaris has a twelve month low of $39.90 and a twelve month high of $84.20. The company’s 50-day moving average is $45.33 and its 200-day moving average is $54.17.

Valaris (NYSE:VAL) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.36 by ($0.48). The firm had revenue of $643.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $588.00 million. Valaris had a return on equity of 13.67% and a net margin of 47.52%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.17 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Valaris will post 4.59 EPS 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 VAL. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its holdings in Valaris by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 73,525 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,478,000 after purchasing an additional 427 shares in the last quarter. Algert Global LLC bought a new position in shares of Valaris during the second quarter worth about $489,000. Creative Planning raised its position in Valaris by 114.6% in the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 8,599 shares of the company’s stock valued at $641,000 after buying an additional 4,592 shares during the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund bought a new stake in Valaris in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,884,000. Finally, Deane Retirement Strategies Inc. boosted its position in Valaris by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Deane Retirement Strategies Inc. now owns 40,504 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,259,000 after acquiring an additional 251 shares during the last quarter. 96.74% of the stock is 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.