Valaris (NYSE:VAL) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Citigroup Analyst Says

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

A number of other research analysts also recently weighed in on VAL. Susquehanna lowered their price target on Valaris from $61.00 to $55.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on shares of Valaris in a research report on Friday, December 6th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $40.00 price objective on the stock. Benchmark downgraded shares of Valaris from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Barclays restated 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. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered Valaris from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $87.00 to $59.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $56.83.

Valaris Price Performance

Shares of VAL traded up $1.36 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $48.68. 855,499 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,494,568. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $45.33 and a 200-day simple moving average of $54.17. The company has a market capitalization of $3.46 billion, a PE ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 1.61 and a quick ratio of 1.61. Valaris has a one year low of $39.90 and a one year high of $84.20.

Valaris (NYSE:VAL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.88 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.36 by ($0.48). The firm had revenue of $643.10 million during 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 period in the prior year, the business posted $0.17 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Valaris will post 4.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in VAL. Deane Retirement Strategies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Valaris by 0.6% in the third quarter. Deane Retirement Strategies Inc. now owns 40,504 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,259,000 after buying an additional 251 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its holdings in Valaris by 0.6% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 73,525 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,478,000 after acquiring an additional 427 shares during the period. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Valaris in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of Valaris by 41.0% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,758 shares of the company’s stock worth $78,000 after purchasing an additional 511 shares during the period. Finally, Saturna Capital Corp lifted its position in shares of Valaris by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Saturna Capital Corp now owns 13,290 shares of the company’s stock worth $741,000 after purchasing an additional 604 shares during the last quarter. 96.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.