Transocean (NYSE:RIG) Trading Up 5.8% – Time to Buy?

Transocean Ltd. (NYSE:RIG) rose 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 traded 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 research firms recently commented on RIG. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Transocean from $5.00 to $4.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Barclays reduced their target price on Transocean from $4.50 to $4.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Transocean from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $5.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 6th. SEB Equity Research set a $2.80 price objective on Transocean in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of Transocean from $6.50 to $5.50 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Two 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $5.03.

Transocean Trading Down 7.8 %

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 stock has a market cap of $2.57 billion, a P/E ratio of -4.01, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 2.72. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $3.36 and a 200-day moving average price of $3.88.

Transocean (NYSE:RIG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 17th. The offshore drilling services provider reported ($0.09) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.02 by ($0.11). Transocean had a negative net margin of 14.53% and a negative return on equity of 0.52%. The company had revenue of $952.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $962.28 million. On average, equities research analysts expect that Transocean Ltd. will post 0.14 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Roderick James Mackenzie sold 22,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.05, for a total value of $89,100.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 229,596 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $929,863.80. This represents a 8.74 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 12.54% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Transocean

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of RIG. 111 Capital purchased a new stake in shares of Transocean in the 4th quarter worth $272,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new stake in Transocean in the fourth quarter worth about $627,000. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Transocean in the fourth quarter worth about $117,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in shares of Transocean by 7.1% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,289,576 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock worth $4,836,000 after buying an additional 85,660 shares during the period. Finally, Wexford Capital LP purchased a new position in shares of Transocean during the 4th quarter valued at about $95,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.