Valaris (NYSE:VAL) Shares Down 5.1% – Time to Sell?

Valaris Limited (NYSE:VAL) shares dropped 5.1% on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $83.97 and last traded at $83.70. Approximately 208,028 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 83% from the average daily volume of 1,209,068 shares. The stock had previously closed at $88.23.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VAL has been the topic of several recent research reports. Susquehanna raised their price target on shares of Valaris from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings raised Valaris from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Monday, August 17th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $66.60.

Valaris Trading Up 2.0%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a current ratio of 1.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.29 and a beta of 0.93. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $82.53 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $88.57.

Valaris (NYSE:VAL) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.31 by $0.41. The firm had revenue of $539.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $488.52 million. Valaris had a net margin of 43.95% and a return on equity of 9.25%. The business’s revenue was down 12.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.61 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Valaris Limited will post 3.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Valaris

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. HBK Investments L P purchased a new position in shares of Valaris in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $114,355,000. Engineers Gate Manager LP bought a new position in shares of Valaris in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,068,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its holdings in shares of Valaris by 48.7% in the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 238,445 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,311,000 after acquiring an additional 78,105 shares in the last quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al purchased a new stake in shares of Valaris during the second quarter valued at approximately $276,000. Finally, BTG Pactual Asset Management US LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Valaris during the second quarter valued at approximately $2,258,000. 96.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Valaris

Valaris Limited (NYSE: VAL) is an offshore contract drilling company that provides drilling services to energy companies worldwide. The company supports exploration and production activities in offshore oil and natural gas fields, operating mobile offshore drilling units for customers under contract.

Valaris’ fleet includes drillships, semisubmersible rigs and jackup rigs. These units are designed for a range of offshore environments, from relatively shallow waters to deepwater and harsh-environment locations.