Valaris (NYSE:VAL) Hits New 12-Month Low – Should You Sell?

Valaris Limited (NYSE:VAL) reached a new 52-week low on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $45.97 and last traded at $46.00, with a volume of 1111641 shares. The stock had previously closed at $47.60.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Valaris Stock Down 3.4 %

The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $51.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $63.59. The company has a quick ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The company has a market cap of $3.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 1.17.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Matthew Lyne sold 26,000 shares of Valaris stock in a transaction on Monday, September 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.77, for a total transaction of $1,450,020.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, COO Gilles Luca sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.86, for a total transaction of $1,705,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 108,342 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,160,326.12. This trade represents a 21.69 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 71,403 shares of company stock valued at $4,028,246 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Valaris

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of VAL. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund bought a new position in Valaris in the second quarter valued at about $28,884,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Valaris by 23.4% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,188,973 shares of the company’s stock worth $88,573,000 after purchasing an additional 225,283 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Valaris by 338.5% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 236,379 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,426,000 after purchasing an additional 182,467 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new position in Valaris during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $13,306,000. Finally, Herr Investment Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Valaris by 123.3% in the 2nd quarter. Herr Investment Group LLC now owns 235,822 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,569,000 after purchasing an additional 130,236 shares in the last quarter. 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.