Transocean (NYSE:RIG) Trading Down 2.2% on Analyst Downgrade

Shares of Transocean Ltd. (NYSE:RIG) fell 2.2% during mid-day trading on Wednesday after TD Cowen lowered their price target on the stock from $6.50 to $5.50. TD Cowen currently has a hold rating on the stock. Transocean traded as low as $4.05 and last traded at $4.07. 6,066,930 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 72% from the average session volume of 21,522,525 shares. The stock had previously closed at $4.16.

A number of other research firms have also recently issued reports on RIG. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Transocean from $5.00 to $6.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. StockNews.com upgraded Transocean to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Benchmark restated a “hold” rating on shares of Transocean in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Transocean from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $5.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Citigroup downgraded shares of Transocean from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $6.17.

Insider Activity at Transocean

In related news, EVP Roderick James Mackenzie sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.29, for a total value of $85,800.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 310,857 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,333,576.53. The trade was a 6.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 12.54% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Transocean

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Pilgrim Global Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Transocean during the 3rd quarter worth $77,473,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Transocean by 19.0% during 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 acquiring an additional 5,856,414 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in Transocean by 24.3% in 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 acquiring an additional 2,623,615 shares during the last quarter. Kailix Advisors LLC increased its position in Transocean by 59.9% in the third quarter. Kailix Advisors LLC now owns 6,620,451 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock worth $28,137,000 after purchasing an additional 2,481,059 shares during the period. Finally, Point72 Europe London LLP bought a new stake in Transocean during the 3rd quarter worth about $8,935,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Transocean Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $3.49 billion, a P/E ratio of -5.32 and a beta of 2.73. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $4.08 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $4.54.

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.