Benchmark Reaffirms Buy Rating for Valaris (NYSE:VAL)

Benchmark restated their buy rating on shares of Valaris (NYSE:VAL) in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $90.00 price objective on the stock.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the company. TheStreet raised Valaris from a c rating to a b- rating in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on shares of Valaris from $107.00 to $105.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. StockNews.com raised shares of Valaris to a sell rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Valaris from $105.00 to $102.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $100.00.

Valaris Stock Performance

VAL opened at $68.25 on Thursday. Valaris has a twelve month low of $54.13 and a twelve month high of $78.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.94 billion, a PE ratio of 5.97 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 1.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $69.74 and its 200 day moving average price is $67.87.

Valaris (NYSE:VAL) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The company reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.40 by ($0.05). Valaris had a return on equity of 3.81% and a net margin of 44.93%. The company had revenue of $525.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $503.00 million. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Valaris will post 4.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Valaris

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its position in Valaris by 120.1% in the third quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 394 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 215 shares during the period. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Valaris in the 3rd quarter valued at $37,000. Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in Valaris by 184.0% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 693 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 449 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. purchased a new position in Valaris during the 3rd quarter valued at about $70,000. Finally, Spire Wealth Management acquired a new position in Valaris in the 4th quarter valued at about $101,000. 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.