Transocean (NYSE:RIG) Lifted to Sell at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Transocean (NYSE:RIG) to a sell rating in a research note released on Thursday morning.

RIG has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Transocean from $7.00 to $5.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 16th. DNB Markets raised Transocean from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Benchmark restated a buy rating and issued a $8.00 price target on shares of Transocean in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Citigroup cut shares of Transocean from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $7.00.

Transocean Stock Performance

RIG opened at $4.31 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The stock has a market cap of $3.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.29 and a beta of 2.79. Transocean has a 12-month low of $3.85 and a 12-month high of $8.60. The business has a 50 day moving average of $4.85 and a 200-day moving average of $5.42.

Transocean (NYSE:RIG) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $861.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $862.25 million. Transocean had a negative net margin of 11.34% and a negative return on equity of 4.76%. Transocean’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.15) earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Transocean will post -0.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Perestroika purchased 1,500,000 shares of Transocean stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $4.13 per share, for a total transaction of $6,195,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 91,074,894 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $376,139,312.22. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Director (Cyprus) Ltd Perestroika bought 2,000,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $5.23 per share, with a total value of $10,460,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 89,574,894 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $468,476,695.62. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Perestroika purchased 1,500,000 shares of Transocean stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The stock was bought 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 owns 91,074,894 shares in the company, valued at approximately $376,139,312.22. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 13.16% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Transocean

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Murphy Pohlad Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Transocean by 1.7% during the first quarter. Murphy Pohlad Asset Management LLC now owns 96,150 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock worth $604,000 after buying an additional 1,600 shares in the last quarter. Traynor Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Transocean by 5.2% in the 1st quarter. Traynor Capital Management Inc. now owns 33,257 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock worth $209,000 after purchasing an additional 1,650 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Transocean by 8.6% in the first quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 22,237 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock valued at $140,000 after purchasing an additional 1,767 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its stake in shares of Transocean by 138.8% during 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 purchasing an additional 2,693 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Transocean by 11.0% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 27,714 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock worth $176,000 after purchasing an additional 2,743 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.