Transocean (NYSE:RIG) Raised 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.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on RIG. Citigroup cut shares of Transocean from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a report on Thursday, September 12th. DNB Markets raised shares of Transocean from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Benchmark reaffirmed a buy rating and set a $8.00 price target on shares of Transocean in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Transocean from $7.00 to $5.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $7.00.

Transocean Stock Up 3.4 %

Shares of RIG opened at $4.31 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $4.85 and its 200-day simple moving average is $5.42. Transocean has a one year low of $3.85 and a one year high of $8.60. The company has a market capitalization of $3.77 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.29 and a beta of 2.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.08.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director (Cyprus) Ltd Perestroika acquired 2,000,000 shares of Transocean 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $468,476,695.62. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Transocean news, Director (Cyprus) Ltd Perestroika acquired 2,000,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $5.23 per share, for a total transaction of $10,460,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 89,574,894 shares in the company, valued at $468,476,695.62. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Perestroika bought 1,500,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 91,074,894 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $376,139,312.22. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 13.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of RIG. Capital World Investors raised its position in shares of Transocean by 34.7% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 39,014,318 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock worth $247,741,000 after purchasing an additional 10,049,077 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Transocean by 19.0% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 36,725,995 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock worth $196,484,000 after purchasing an additional 5,856,414 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Transocean by 6.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 68,552,192 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock valued at $435,306,000 after buying an additional 4,107,956 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new position in shares of Transocean in the second quarter valued at approximately $16,179,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised 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 worth $71,891,000 after purchasing an additional 2,623,615 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.