Valaris (NYSE:VAL) Sets New 52-Week Low – Time to Sell?

Valaris Limited (NYSE:VAL)’s stock price hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $45.97 and last traded at $46.00, with a volume of 1111641 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $47.60.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VAL has been the subject of several recent research reports. Susquehanna reduced their target price on shares of Valaris from $61.00 to $55.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Benchmark cut Valaris from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Citigroup reduced their target price on Valaris from $95.00 to $71.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Valaris from $61.00 to $59.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $80.00.

Valaris Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $3.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 1.17. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $51.83 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $63.59. The company has a current ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Matthew Lyne sold 26,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $1,360,118.76. The trade was a 51.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Gilles Luca sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.86, for a total value of $1,705,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 108,342 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,160,326.12. This trade represents a 21.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 71,403 shares of company stock worth $4,028,246. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Valaris

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in shares of Valaris by 6.1% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 34,656 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,609,000 after acquiring an additional 2,005 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado purchased a new stake in shares of Valaris in the first quarter worth $418,000. Lumbard & Kellner LLC raised its holdings in Valaris by 1.8% during the first quarter. Lumbard & Kellner LLC now owns 77,845 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,859,000 after acquiring an additional 1,363 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Valaris in the first quarter valued at about $582,000. Finally, Boston Partners boosted its stake in shares of Valaris by 6.5% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 8,914 shares of the company’s stock worth $671,000 after acquiring an additional 544 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.74% of the company’s stock.

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.