Transocean (NYSE:RIG) Rating Increased to Sell at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Transocean (NYSE:RIG) to a sell rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on RIG. DNB Markets raised shares of Transocean from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Citigroup downgraded Transocean from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Transocean from $7.00 to $5.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Benchmark reaffirmed a buy rating and set a $8.00 price target on shares of Transocean in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $7.00.

Transocean Price Performance

Shares of NYSE RIG opened at $4.31 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.36. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $4.85 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $5.42. Transocean has a fifty-two week low of $3.85 and a fifty-two week high of $8.60. The company has a market capitalization of $3.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.29 and a beta of 2.79.

Transocean (NYSE:RIG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The offshore drilling services provider reported ($0.15) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.08) by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $861.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $862.25 million. Transocean had a negative net margin of 11.34% and a negative return on equity of 4.76%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 18.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($0.15) EPS. Analysts expect that Transocean will post -0.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Perestroika acquired 1,500,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $4.13 per share, with a total value of $6,195,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 91,074,894 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $376,139,312.22. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, Director (Cyprus) Ltd Perestroika purchased 2,000,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was bought at an average price of $5.23 per share, with a total value of $10,460,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 89,574,894 shares in the company, valued at $468,476,695.62. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Perestroika acquired 1,500,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $4.13 per share, for a total transaction of $6,195,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 91,074,894 shares in the company, valued at approximately $376,139,312.22. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 13.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Transocean

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Cloverfields Capital Group LP purchased a new position in Transocean in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,008,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Transocean by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 68,982,142 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock valued at $433,208,000 after acquiring an additional 429,950 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its position in Transocean by 76.9% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 402,839 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock worth $2,530,000 after acquiring an additional 175,130 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Transocean by 3.6% in the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 1,437,730 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock valued at $9,029,000 after acquiring an additional 49,800 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quadrature Capital Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Transocean by 199.8% in the 4th quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 522,973 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock valued at $3,323,000 after buying an additional 348,507 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Transocean

Transocean Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, provides offshore contract drilling services for oil and gas wells worldwide. It contracts mobile offshore drilling rigs, related equipment, and work crews to drill oil and gas wells. The company operates a fleet of mobile offshore drilling units, consisting of ultra-deepwater floaters and harsh environment floaters.