Valaris (NYSE:VAL) Sees Large Volume Increase – Time to Buy?

Shares of Valaris Limited (NYSE:VAL) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Tuesday . Approximately 3,604,218 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 188% from the previous session’s volume of 1,249,310 shares.The stock last traded at $34.11 and had previously closed at $32.85.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VAL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Evercore ISI lowered Valaris from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $87.00 to $59.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Valaris from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Susquehanna reduced their target price on shares of Valaris from $50.00 to $47.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 21st. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Valaris from $49.00 to $46.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Valaris to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $55.00.

Valaris Price Performance

The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $44.85 and its 200-day simple moving average is $49.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.59 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 1.59 and a quick ratio of 1.61.

Valaris (NYSE:VAL) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.68. Valaris had a net margin of 15.81% and a return on equity of 17.40%. The company had revenue of $584.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $578.01 million. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Valaris Limited will post 3.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Quarry LP bought a new stake in Valaris in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Valaris by 518.3% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 742 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 622 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC lifted its stake in shares of Valaris by 395.0% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,475 shares of the company’s stock worth $65,000 after buying an additional 1,177 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Valaris by 41.0% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,758 shares of the company’s stock worth $78,000 after buying an additional 511 shares during the period. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC grew its stake in Valaris by 326.9% in the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,874 shares of the company’s stock valued at $83,000 after buying an additional 1,435 shares during the last quarter. 96.74% of the stock is currently 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.