Ensco Plc Upgraded to “Buy” by ING Group (ESV)

May 26:

Ensco Plc (NYSE:ESV) was upgraded by investment analysts at ING Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Monday.

The analysts wrote, “Ensco (ESV) has been upgraded by TheStreet Ratings from hold to buy. The company’s strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its revenue growth, expanding profit margins, good cash flow from operations, largely solid financial position with reasonable debt levels by most measures and notable return on equity. We feel these strengths outweigh the fact that the company has had sub par growth in net income.”

Shares of Ensco Plc (NYSE:ESV) traded down 0.33% during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $51.35. The stock had a trading volume of 1,989,868 shares. Ensco Plc has a 1-year low of $47.85 and a 1-year high of $63.00. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $50.51 and a 200-day moving average of $53.75. The company has a market cap of $11.998 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.64.

Ensco Plc (NYSE:ESV) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.13 by $1.18. The company had revenue of $1.19 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $534.41 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.36 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Ensco Plc will post $5.70 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which is scheduled for Friday, June 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 9th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 5th.

ESV has been the subject of a number of other recent research reports. Analysts at TheStreet upgraded shares of Ensco Plc from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Separately, analysts at Jefferies Group downgraded shares of Ensco Plc from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. They now have a $56.00 price target on the stock, down previously from $58.00. Finally, analysts at Barclays reiterated an “equal weight” rating on shares of Ensco Plc in a research note on Friday, May 16th. They now have a $42.00 price target on the stock, down previously from $44.00. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nineteen have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Ensco Plc has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $56.89.

Ensco plc (NYSE:ESV) is a provider of offshore contract drilling services to the international oil and gas industry.

Source: http://tickerreport.com/banking-finance/222519/ensco-plc-upgraded-to-buy-by-ing-group-esv/?