Transocean (NYSE:RIG) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

Transocean (NYSE:RIG) was upgraded by analysts at StockNews.com to a “sell” rating in a research report issued on Thursday.

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

Transocean Stock Performance

RIG stock opened at $4.33 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $4.85 and its two-hundred day moving average is $5.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.32 and a beta of 2.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.36. Transocean has a 1 year low of $3.85 and a 1 year high of $8.60.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Institutional Trading of Transocean

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Transocean by 0.6% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 68,982,142 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock worth $433,208,000 after acquiring an additional 429,950 shares in the last quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA grew its position in Transocean by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 56,119,489 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock worth $300,239,000 after purchasing an additional 375,450 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its stake in Transocean by 18.8% during the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 46,334,990 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock valued at $290,984,000 after purchasing an additional 7,320,672 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Transocean by 19.0% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 36,725,995 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock valued at $196,484,000 after purchasing an additional 5,856,414 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in shares of Transocean by 7.0% in the first quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 17,013,964 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock worth $106,848,000 after buying an additional 1,105,747 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.