Transocean (NYSE:RIG) Stock Price Up 5.8% – Here’s Why

Transocean Ltd. (NYSE:RIG)’s stock price was up 5.8% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $3.34 and last traded at $3.36. Approximately 16,404,614 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 26% from the average daily volume of 22,258,683 shares. The stock had previously closed at $3.17.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Transocean from $4.50 to $4.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Transocean from $5.00 to $4.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Transocean from $4.50 to $3.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Transocean from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $5.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut shares of Transocean from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $6.00 to $5.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Transocean has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $5.03.

Transocean Trading Up 2.7 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.47. The company’s fifty day moving average is $3.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $3.89. The company has a market cap of $2.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.46, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 2.72.

Transocean (NYSE:RIG) last posted its quarterly 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). The business had revenue of $952.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $962.28 million. Transocean had a negative net margin of 14.53% and a negative return on equity of 0.52%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Transocean Ltd. will post 0.14 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Transocean news, EVP Roderick James Mackenzie sold 22,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.85, for a total transaction of $84,700.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 313,072 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,205,327.20. This trade represents a 6.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 13.16% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Transocean

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Transocean by 7.4% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,465,534 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock worth $46,746,000 after purchasing an additional 859,214 shares during the last quarter. Hosking Partners LLP grew its holdings in shares of Transocean by 23.5% in the fourth quarter. Hosking Partners LLP now owns 1,706,143 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock valued at $6,398,000 after purchasing an additional 324,955 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Transocean by 4.1% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,245,298 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock worth $73,307,000 after purchasing an additional 680,242 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in Transocean by 33.9% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 15,393,873 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock valued at $57,727,000 after purchasing an additional 3,895,880 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D raised its position in Transocean by 25.2% in the fourth quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 499,801 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock valued at $1,874,000 after purchasing an additional 100,691 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

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.