Transocean (NYSE:RIG) Shares Gap Down on Analyst Downgrade

Transocean Ltd. (NYSE:RIG)’s stock price gapped down prior to trading on Monday after Susquehanna lowered their price target on the stock from $8.00 to $7.00. The stock had previously closed at $4.30, but opened at $4.19. Susquehanna currently has a positive rating on the stock. Transocean shares last traded at $4.18, with a volume of 2,042,453 shares trading hands.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on the company. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $8.00 price target on shares of Transocean in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. DNB Markets raised 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 research report on Thursday, September 12th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Transocean from $5.00 to $6.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Transocean to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $6.88.

Insider Buying and Selling at Transocean

In other Transocean news, Director Perestroika purchased 1,500,000 shares of Transocean stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The stock was acquired at an average cost 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $376,139,312.22. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Transocean news, Director Perestroika purchased 1,500,000 shares of Transocean stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The stock was acquired at an average cost 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $376,139,312.22. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director (Cyprus) Ltd Perestroika acquired 2,000,000 shares of Transocean stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were purchased 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 trade was a 0.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 13.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Transocean

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its position in shares of Transocean by 138.8% in the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 4,633 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 2,693 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Transocean in the second quarter valued at about $30,000. Fiducient Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Transocean in the first quarter valued at about $63,000. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Transocean in the second quarter valued at about $64,000. Finally, CWM LLC boosted its holdings in Transocean by 36.1% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 17,065 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock valued at $73,000 after purchasing an additional 4,529 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Transocean Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $3.71 billion, a PE ratio of -9.41 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. The business has a fifty day moving average of $4.60 and a 200 day moving average of $5.29.

Transocean (NYSE:RIG) last announced its quarterly 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). The company had revenue of $861.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $862.25 million. Transocean had a negative return on equity of 4.76% and a negative net margin of 11.34%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.15) earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Transocean Ltd. will post -0.18 earnings per share for the current year.

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.