Transocean (NYSE:RIG) Shares Down 5.6% – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Transocean Ltd. (NYSE:RIG) were down 5.6% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $3.19 and last traded at $3.14. Approximately 1,981,378 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 91% from the average daily volume of 22,299,702 shares. The stock had previously closed at $3.32.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on RIG shares. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Transocean from $4.50 to $3.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. SEB Equity Research set a $2.80 price target on shares of Transocean in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Transocean from $5.00 to $4.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Transocean from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $5.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Evercore ISI downgraded Transocean from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $6.00 to $5.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $5.03.

Transocean Trading Down 4.4 %

The company has a market capitalization of $2.80 billion, a P/E ratio of -4.35, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 2.72. The business has a fifty day moving average of $3.37 and a 200-day moving average of $3.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.47.

Transocean (NYSE:RIG) last posted its earnings results on Monday, February 17th. The offshore drilling services provider reported ($0.09) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.02 by ($0.11). Transocean had a negative return on equity of 0.52% and a negative net margin of 14.53%. The business had revenue of $952.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $962.28 million. Analysts anticipate that Transocean Ltd. will post 0.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Transocean

In other Transocean news, EVP Roderick James Mackenzie sold 22,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.85, for a total value of $84,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 313,072 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,205,327.20. This represents a 6.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 12.54% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Transocean

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Optiver Holding B.V. boosted its position in Transocean by 53.6% in the fourth quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 8,400 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 2,933 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC grew its position in Transocean by 19.4% during the fourth quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 18,247 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock valued at $68,000 after buying an additional 2,963 shares during the period. Van Den Berg Management I Inc. increased its holdings in Transocean by 11.9% during the fourth quarter. Van Den Berg Management I Inc. now owns 28,155 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock worth $106,000 after buying an additional 3,000 shares during the last quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in Transocean by 25.6% in the fourth quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 15,332 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 3,127 shares during the period. Finally, Nomura Holdings Inc. boosted its stake in Transocean by 11.6% in the fourth quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. now owns 32,651 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock valued at $122,000 after acquiring an additional 3,390 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Transocean Company Profile

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.