Barclays Cuts Transocean (NYSE:RIG) Price Target to $4.50

Transocean (NYSE:RIG) had its price objective cut by analysts at Barclays from $6.00 to $4.50 in a report issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “equal weight” rating on the offshore drilling services provider’s stock. Barclays‘s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 10.02% from the company’s current price.

RIG has been the subject of a number of other reports. Susquehanna cut their target price on Transocean from $8.00 to $7.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Transocean from $5.00 to $6.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. StockNews.com raised Transocean to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Benchmark cut shares of Transocean from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, DNB Markets upgraded shares of Transocean from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Transocean currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $6.69.

Transocean Price Performance

RIG stock opened at $4.09 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The company has a market capitalization of $3.58 billion, a P/E ratio of -9.09 and a beta of 2.79. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $4.45 and a 200-day simple moving average of $5.18. Transocean has a twelve month low of $3.85 and a twelve month high of $7.06.

Transocean (NYSE:RIG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The offshore drilling services provider reported ($0.15) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.08) by ($0.07). Transocean had a negative net margin of 11.34% and a negative return on equity of 4.76%. The company had revenue of $861.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $862.25 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($0.15) EPS. The business’s revenue was up 18.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Transocean will post -0.18 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Transocean

In other Transocean news, Director (Cyprus) Ltd Perestroika acquired 2,000,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $5.23 per share, with a total value of $10,460,000.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 89,574,894 shares in the company, valued at approximately $468,476,695.62. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, Director Perestroika bought 1,500,000 shares of Transocean stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $4.13 per share, for a total transaction of $6,195,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 91,074,894 shares in the company, valued at approximately $376,139,312.22. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director (Cyprus) Ltd Perestroika purchased 2,000,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $5.23 per share, for a total transaction of $10,460,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 89,574,894 shares in the company, valued at $468,476,695.62. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 13.16% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Transocean

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital World Investors raised its holdings in Transocean by 18.8% in the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 46,334,990 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock valued at $290,984,000 after acquiring an additional 7,320,672 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Transocean by 19.0% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 36,725,995 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock valued at $196,484,000 after purchasing an additional 5,856,414 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Transocean by 6.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 68,552,192 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock worth $435,306,000 after buying an additional 4,107,956 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new stake in Transocean in the 2nd quarter valued at about $16,179,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in shares of Transocean by 24.3% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 13,437,572 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock valued at $71,891,000 after acquiring an additional 2,623,615 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.