Morgan Stanley Has Lowered Expectations for Transocean (NYSE:RIG) Stock Price

Transocean (NYSE:RIG) had its price target reduced by equities research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $5.00 to $4.00 in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “equal weight” rating on the offshore drilling services provider’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 22.32% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup cut their price objective on Transocean from $4.50 to $3.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. TD Cowen cut their price target on Transocean from $6.50 to $5.50 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Transocean from $4.50 to $4.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Evercore ISI downgraded shares of Transocean from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $6.00 to $5.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, SEB Equity Research set a $2.80 target price on shares of Transocean in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $5.03.

Transocean Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:RIG traded up $0.05 on Thursday, hitting $3.27. The stock had a trading volume of 20,627,807 shares, compared to its average volume of 31,795,814. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $3.44 and its 200-day moving average price is $3.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.47. Transocean has a twelve month low of $2.55 and a twelve month high of $6.88. The company has a market capitalization of $2.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 2.72.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Roderick James Mackenzie sold 22,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.85, for a total transaction of $84,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 313,072 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,205,327.20. The trade was a 6.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 13.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of RIG. 111 Capital acquired a new stake in Transocean in the fourth quarter worth $272,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new stake in Transocean during the 4th quarter worth $627,000. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Transocean during the fourth quarter worth about $117,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in 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 valued at $4,836,000 after acquiring an additional 85,660 shares during the period. Finally, Wexford Capital LP bought a new stake in shares of Transocean in the fourth quarter worth about $95,000. 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.