Seadrill (NYSE:SDRL) Raised to Strong-Buy at Zacks Research

Seadrill (NYSE:SDRL) was upgraded by analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, Zacks reports.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the company. BWS Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $80.00 target price on shares of Seadrill in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Seadrill in a report on Monday, September 7th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Seadrill in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, Capital One Financial set a $55.00 price objective on shares of Seadrill and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $59.40.

Seadrill Stock Performance

Shares of SDRL opened at $49.72 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 2.50, a quick ratio of 2.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The company has a market capitalization of $3.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 1,657.33 and a beta of 1.22. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $45.49 and a 200 day moving average of $45.40. Seadrill has a 12 month low of $28.10 and a 12 month high of $55.47.

Seadrill (NYSE:SDRL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 10th. The oil and gas company reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.18. Seadrill had a return on equity of 0.64% and a net margin of 0.07%.The business had revenue of $430.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $388.46 million. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Seadrill will post 0.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Seadrill

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Swiss National Bank lifted its stake in Seadrill by 0.5% in the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 117,200 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $5,333,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its position in Seadrill by 6.9% during the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 11,488 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $397,000 after buying an additional 742 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System grew its stake in shares of Seadrill by 5.7% during the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 17,232 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $652,000 after buying an additional 926 shares during the last quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC grew its stake in shares of Seadrill by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC now owns 301,690 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $10,438,000 after buying an additional 1,375 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amica Mutual Insurance Co. increased its holdings in shares of Seadrill by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Amica Mutual Insurance Co. now owns 30,999 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,073,000 after buying an additional 1,425 shares during the period. 95.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Seadrill Company Profile

Seadrill Limited is an offshore drilling contractor that provides drilling services to international oil and gas companies. The company operates and manages offshore drilling units, including drillships and semisubmersible rigs, for exploration, development and production projects in deepwater and harsh-environment locations.

Its services include contract drilling, rig operations, well construction support and related offshore services. Seadrill’s activities have historically covered major offshore energy regions such as the North Sea, the Gulf of Mexico, Brazil and other markets in the Atlantic and international offshore basins.

Founded in 2005 and headquartered in Hamilton, Bermuda, Seadrill has expanded through fleet investments and industry transactions.