Valaris (NYSE:VAL) Sets New 1-Year Low Following Analyst Downgrade

Valaris Limited (NYSE:VAL) reached a new 52-week low during trading on Monday after Benchmark downgraded the stock from a buy rating to a hold rating. The company traded as low as $51.68 and last traded at $51.68, with a volume of 185394 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $52.93.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Pickering Energy Partners cut Valaris from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Valaris from $98.00 to $91.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Citigroup dropped their target price on Valaris from $95.00 to $71.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, Susquehanna dropped their target price on Valaris from $62.00 to $61.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $86.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Valaris news, SVP Matthew Lyne sold 26,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 24,388 shares in the company, valued at $1,360,118.76. This represents 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 at this link. In other Valaris news, COO Gilles Luca sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.86, for a total value of $1,705,800.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 108,342 shares in the company, valued at $6,160,326.12. This represents 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 at this link. Also, SVP Matthew Lyne sold 26,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.77, for a total value of $1,450,020.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 24,388 shares in the company, valued at $1,360,118.76. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 71,403 shares of company stock worth $4,028,246. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Valaris

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Valaris by 1.0% during the first quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 16,124 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,213,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares during the period. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC increased its stake in shares of Valaris by 3.0% during the first quarter. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 7,119 shares of the company’s stock worth $536,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System increased its stake in shares of Valaris by 1.2% during the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 18,244 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,359,000 after purchasing an additional 214 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Valaris by 180.8% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 365 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 235 shares during the period. Finally, World Equity Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Valaris by 1.9% during the second quarter. World Equity Group Inc. now owns 12,827 shares of the company’s stock worth $956,000 after purchasing an additional 238 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.74% of the company’s stock.

Valaris Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $3.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.40 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a quick ratio of 1.73, a current ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $57.89 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $67.80.

Valaris (NYSE:VAL) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $2.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96 by $1.07. The company had revenue of $610.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $545.00 million. Valaris had a return on equity of 12.58% and a net margin of 49.33%. On average, research analysts predict that Valaris Limited will post 4.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.