Transocean (NYSE:RIG) Sets New 52-Week Low – Should You Sell?

Transocean Ltd. (NYSE:RIG)’s share price hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $2.27 and last traded at $2.34, with a volume of 13815386 shares. The stock had previously closed at $2.72.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on RIG shares. Barclays cut their target price on Transocean from $4.50 to $4.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Evercore ISI cut shares of Transocean from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $6.00 to $5.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. SEB Equity Research set a $2.80 target price on Transocean in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Transocean from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $5.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their target price on shares of Transocean from $6.50 to $5.50 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $5.03.

Transocean Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The business has a 50-day moving average of $3.34 and a 200 day moving average of $3.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.92 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 2.72.

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

Insider Transactions at Transocean

In related news, EVP Roderick James Mackenzie sold 22,000 shares of Transocean stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.85, for a total value of $84,700.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 313,072 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,205,327.20. The trade was a 6.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 12.54% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Transocean

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in RIG. Optiver Holding B.V. increased its position in shares of Transocean by 53.6% during the fourth quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 8,400 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 2,933 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC lifted its stake in Transocean by 19.4% in the 4th quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 18,247 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock worth $68,000 after purchasing an additional 2,963 shares in the last quarter. Van Den Berg Management I Inc. boosted its holdings in Transocean by 11.9% in the 4th quarter. Van Den Berg Management I Inc. now owns 28,155 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock valued at $106,000 after purchasing an additional 3,000 shares during the period. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Transocean by 25.6% during the fourth quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 15,332 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock valued at $57,000 after buying an additional 3,127 shares during the period. Finally, Nomura Holdings Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Transocean by 11.6% in the 4th quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. now owns 32,651 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock valued at $122,000 after acquiring an additional 3,390 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.