Susquehanna Lowers Transocean (NYSE:RIG) Price Target to $6.50

Transocean (NYSE:RIG) had its price target cut by research analysts at Susquehanna from $7.00 to $6.50 in a research note issued to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “positive” rating on the offshore drilling services provider’s stock. Susquehanna’s price target indicates a potential upside of 46.07% from the company’s previous close.

Several other analysts also recently commented on the stock. Citigroup downgraded shares of Transocean from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Benchmark downgraded shares of Transocean from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. DNB Markets upgraded shares of Transocean from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Transocean from $6.00 to $4.50 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Transocean from $5.00 to $6.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Transocean currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $6.63.

Transocean Stock Up 2.5 %

Shares of NYSE:RIG traded up $0.11 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $4.45. 12,571,195 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 18,396,744. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $4.36 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $5.10. The stock has a market cap of $3.90 billion, a P/E ratio of -5.88 and a beta of 2.79. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. Transocean has a 12-month low of $3.85 and a 12-month high of $7.05.

Transocean (NYSE:RIG) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The offshore drilling services provider reported ($0.15) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.08) by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $861.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $862.25 million. Transocean had a negative net margin of 18.81% and a negative return on equity of 1.47%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.15) EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Transocean will post -0.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Transocean

In other Transocean news, Director Perestroika bought 1,500,000 shares of Transocean stock in a transaction dated 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 purchase, the director now directly owns 91,074,894 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $376,139,312.22. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 13.16% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Transocean

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of RIG. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its position in shares of Transocean by 138.8% in the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 4,633 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 2,693 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Transocean during the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Fiducient Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Transocean during the first quarter valued at approximately $63,000. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Transocean during the second quarter valued at approximately $64,000. Finally, CWM LLC lifted its position in Transocean by 36.1% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 17,065 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock valued at $73,000 after purchasing an additional 4,529 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.