Valaris (NYSE:VAL) Shares Gap Up on Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Valaris Limited (NYSE:VAL) shares gapped up prior to trading on Thursday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock had previously closed at $42.82, but opened at $46.00. Valaris shares last traded at $44.25, with a volume of 592,465 shares traded.

The company reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.68. The business had revenue of $584.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $578.01 million. Valaris had a return on equity of 17.67% and a net margin of 15.81%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI cut Valaris from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $87.00 to $59.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on Valaris in a research report on Friday, December 6th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $40.00 target price for the company. Citigroup upped their target price on Valaris from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Susquehanna decreased their target price on Valaris from $50.00 to $47.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Finally, Barclays reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $49.00 target price (down from $59.00) on shares of Valaris in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $55.50.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Valaris

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of VAL. Quarry LP purchased a new position in Valaris during the third quarter worth $25,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its position in Valaris by 518.3% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 742 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 622 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC increased its position in Valaris by 395.0% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,475 shares of the company’s stock worth $65,000 after buying an additional 1,177 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in Valaris by 41.0% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,758 shares of the company’s stock worth $78,000 after buying an additional 511 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its position in Valaris by 326.9% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,874 shares of the company’s stock worth $83,000 after buying an additional 1,435 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.74% of the company’s stock.

Valaris Stock Down 6.2 %

The company has a market cap of $2.97 billion, a PE ratio of 8.13 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. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $45.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $50.70.

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.