Valaris (NYSE:VAL) Hits New 1-Year Low – What’s Next?

Valaris Limited (NYSE:VAL)’s stock price reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $39.90 and last traded at $40.11, with a volume of 69907 shares. The stock had previously closed at $40.97.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on VAL shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on Valaris in a research note on Friday, December 6th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $40.00 price target for the company. Barclays restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $49.00 target price (down from $59.00) on shares of Valaris in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Benchmark cut shares of Valaris from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Citigroup downgraded Valaris from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $58.00 to $47.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Susquehanna reduced their price objective on Valaris from $61.00 to $55.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $64.33.

Valaris Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The company has a market capitalization of $2.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $47.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $59.30.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Matthew Lyne sold 26,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.77, for a total transaction of $1,450,020.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 24,388 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,360,118.76. This represents a 51.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Valaris

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Quarry LP acquired a new position in Valaris in the third quarter valued at $25,000. Choreo LLC acquired a new position in shares of Valaris during the second quarter worth approximately $204,000. Evergreen Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Valaris during the second quarter valued at about $204,000. Scientech Research LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Valaris in the second quarter worth approximately $211,000. Finally, SkyView Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Valaris in the second quarter valued at approximately $224,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.74% of the company’s stock.

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.