Seadrill (NYSE:SDRL) Hits New 1-Year High – Here’s Why

Seadrill Limited (NYSE:SDRL)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $48.00 and last traded at $46.7110, with a volume of 117774 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $44.56.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup raised shares of Seadrill from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $32.00 to $46.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Seadrill from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. BWS Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $80.00 price target on shares of Seadrill in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Zacks Research downgraded Seadrill from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, February 16th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on Seadrill from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $48.00.

Seadrill Stock Performance

The company has a 50 day moving average price of $42.72 and a 200-day moving average price of $35.72. The company has a current ratio of 2.03, a quick ratio of 2.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The company has a market cap of $2.85 billion, a P/E ratio of -36.86 and a beta of 1.31.

Seadrill (NYSE:SDRL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The oil and gas company reported $0.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.07 by $0.05. Seadrill had a negative return on equity of 2.07% and a negative net margin of 5.36%.The business had revenue of $362.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $335.36 million. On average, equities analysts expect that Seadrill Limited will post 1.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SDRL. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in Seadrill by 19.7% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,086 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $63,000 after buying an additional 343 shares during the period. Amica Retiree Medical Trust boosted its stake in shares of 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 valued at $89,000 after purchasing an additional 355 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Seadrill by 11.7% during the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 4,615 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $139,000 after buying an additional 484 shares during the period. Osaic Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Seadrill by 18.8% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 3,521 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $92,000 after purchasing an additional 558 shares during the period. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its position in shares of Seadrill by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 72,020 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,176,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares in the last quarter. 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.