Valaris (NYSE:VAL) Sets New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

Valaris Limited (NYSE:VAL) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $102.60 and last traded at $101.5270, with a volume of 124243 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $100.26.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VAL has been the subject of several analyst reports. Zacks Research downgraded Valaris from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Citigroup dropped their price target on Valaris from $62.00 to $58.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. BTIG Research downgraded Valaris from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 9th. Pareto Securities cut shares of Valaris from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $80.00 target price for the company. in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Valaris in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Valaris has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $56.50.

Valaris Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $7.09 billion, a PE ratio of 7.32 and a beta of 1.07. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $82.41 and a 200-day moving average price of $63.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 1.77 and a quick ratio of 1.77.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Valaris

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of VAL. WINTON GROUP Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Valaris by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 27,510 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,387,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC grew its position in Valaris by 22.1% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,133 shares of the company’s stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares in the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC grew its position in Valaris by 1.4% during the third quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 15,301 shares of the company’s stock valued at $746,000 after purchasing an additional 214 shares in the last quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. increased its stake in Valaris by 4.1% in the 2nd quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 5,885 shares of the company’s stock valued at $248,000 after buying an additional 230 shares during the period. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in Valaris by 50.5% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 778 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 261 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.74% of the company’s stock.

About Valaris

Valaris PLC is a leading provider of offshore drilling services to the global energy industry. The company operates a diverse fleet of mobile offshore drilling units, including drillships, semisubmersibles and jackup rigs, designed to support exploration and production activities in deepwater, ultra-deepwater and harsh‐environment settings. Valaris serves a wide range of international oil and gas customers, offering turnkey drilling solutions, project management and advanced technology integration to enhance operational efficiency and safety.

Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Valaris maintains a significant presence in key offshore basins around the world.