Ensco Plc (NYSE:ESV) had its price target reduced by research analysts at Stephens from $18.00 to $10.00 in a report released on Thursday, StockTargetPrices.com reports. Stephens’ price target would indicate a potential upside of 12.87% from the company’s previous close.

Other hedge funds recently made changes to their positions in the company. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings raised its stake in shares of Ensco Plc by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings now owns 190,276 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock valued at $2,928,000 after buying an additional 757 shares during the period. Meag Munich Ergo Kapitalanlagegesellschaft bought a new stake in shares of Ensco Plc during the third quarter valued at about $1,975,000. Commonwealth Equity Services raised its stake in shares of Ensco Plc by 11.9% in the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services now owns 68,087 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock valued at $1,048,000 after buying an additional 7,214 shares during the period. Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund raised its stake in shares of Ensco Plc by 17.0% in the fourth quarter. Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 54,011 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock valued at $831,000 after buying an additional 7,848 shares during the period. Finally, Janus Capital Management raised its stake in shares of Ensco Plc by 141.9% in the third quarter. Janus Capital Management now owns 45,564 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock valued at $642,000 after buying an additional 26,731 shares during the period.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on ESV. Citigroup Inc. restated a “buy” rating and issued a $24.00 target price on shares of Ensco Plc in a research note on Thursday, November 5th. Zacks Investment Research downgraded shares of Ensco Plc from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 19th. Jefferies Group raised their target price on shares of Ensco Plc from $15.00 to $16.00 in a research note on Friday, October 30th. Cowen and Company lowered their target price on shares of Ensco Plc from $15.00 to $13.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI restated a “buy” rating on shares of Ensco Plc in a research note on Sunday, December 27th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $18.21.

Ensco Plc (NYSE:ESV) traded down 7.42% during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $8.86. The stock had a trading volume of 9,318,463 shares. The firm’s market capitalization is $2.09 billion. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $13.58 and a 200 day moving average of $16.01. Ensco Plc has a 52-week low of $8.81 and a 52-week high of $32.28.

Ensco Plc (NYSE:ESV) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The offshore drilling services provider reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $0.78. The firm earned $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $914.04 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.87 earnings per share. Ensco Plc’s revenue was down 15.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Ensco Plc will post $4.37 EPS for the current year.

In other news, CFO James W. Swent III sold 59,189 shares of Ensco Plc stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.81, for a total value of $1,054,156.09. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 15,932 shares in the company, valued at $283,748.92. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Ensco plc (NYSE:ESV) is a global offshore contract drilling company. The Company provides offshore contract drilling services to the international oil and gas industry. The Company operates in three segments: Floaters, which includes its drill ships and semisubmersible rigs; Jackups and Other, which consists of management services on rigs owned by third-parties. Its Floaters and Jackups segments provide contract drilling. It owns and operates an offshore drilling rig fleet of around 70 rigs, including seven rigs under construction, with drilling operations in markets around the globe. Its rig fleet includes around 10 drill ships, 13 semisubmersible rigs, five moored semisubmersible rigs and 42 jackup rigs. Of its 70 rigs, around 17 are located in North and South America, 17 are located in the Middle East and Africa, 17 are located in the Asia Pacific rim (including five rigs under construction), 15 are located in Europe and the Mediterranean and fits are located in Brazil.

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