StockNews.com Upgrades Transocean (NYSE:RIG) to “Sell”

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

RIG has been the subject of several other research reports. DNB Markets raised Transocean from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Transocean from $5.00 to $6.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Benchmark downgraded Transocean from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Susquehanna lowered their price objective on Transocean from $7.00 to $6.50 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Citigroup downgraded Transocean from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $6.63.

Transocean Stock Down 4.8 %

Shares of NYSE:RIG opened at $4.29 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.64. Transocean has a 52-week low of $3.85 and a 52-week high of $6.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.75 billion, a P/E ratio of -5.71 and a beta of 2.78. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $4.30 and a 200-day moving average price of $5.01.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Perestroika purchased 1,500,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $4.13 per share, with a total value of $6,195,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 91,074,894 shares in the company, valued at $376,139,312.22. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 12.54% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Transocean

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital World Investors grew its position in Transocean by 18.8% during the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 46,334,990 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock valued at $290,984,000 after buying an additional 7,320,672 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of 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. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new position in Transocean during the second quarter valued at $16,179,000. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in Transocean by 24.3% during the second 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 purchasing an additional 2,623,615 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in Transocean by 18.3% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 16,858,264 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock worth $90,192,000 after buying an additional 2,606,017 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.