Seadrill (NYSE:SDRL) Sets New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

Seadrill Limited (NYSE:SDRL) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $53.94 and last traded at $53.8960, with a volume of 178810 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $52.70.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on SDRL shares. Citigroup raised their price objective on Seadrill from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Fearnley Fonds raised Seadrill from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Barclays raised Seadrill from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $41.00 to $59.00 in a report on Thursday, May 7th. BWS Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $80.00 price target on shares of Seadrill in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Seadrill from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $55.00.

Seadrill Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.94, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The firm has a market cap of $3.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -48.63 and a beta of 1.25. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $46.54 and a two-hundred day moving average of $39.18.

Seadrill (NYSE:SDRL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 11th. The oil and gas company reported ($0.11) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.10) by ($0.01). Seadrill had a negative net margin of 4.79% and a negative return on equity of 1.84%. The company had revenue of $358.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $326.75 million. On average, analysts anticipate that Seadrill Limited will post 0.04 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Seadrill

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Amica Retiree Medical Trust lifted its holdings in Seadrill by 13.7% in the 3rd quarter. Amica Retiree Medical Trust now owns 2,942 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $89,000 after purchasing an additional 355 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Seadrill by 20.2% in the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,508 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $87,000 after acquiring an additional 422 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Seadrill by 11.7% in the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 4,615 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $139,000 after acquiring an additional 484 shares during the period. Osaic Holdings Inc. boosted its position in shares of Seadrill by 18.8% in the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 3,521 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $92,000 after acquiring an additional 558 shares during the period. Finally, Swiss National Bank boosted its position in shares of Seadrill by 0.5% in the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 117,200 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $5,333,000 after acquiring an additional 600 shares during the period. 95.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Seadrill Company Profile

Seadrill Limited, trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol SDRL, is a leading provider of offshore drilling services to the global oil and gas industry. The company specializes in the design, construction, deployment and operation of mobile offshore drilling units, serving major exploration and production companies with turnkey drilling solutions.

Seadrill’s fleet comprises ultra-deepwater drillships, semi-submersible rigs and high-specification jack-up units capable of operating in some of the world’s most challenging offshore environments.