Transocean Ltd. (NYSE:RIG) Receives Consensus Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of Transocean Ltd. (NYSE:RIG) have been given an average rating of “Hold” by the nine brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have given a hold recommendation and three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $4.4750.

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on RIG. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated an “underweight” rating on shares of Transocean in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Transocean from $4.25 to $4.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Transocean from $4.00 to $4.50 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Morgan Stanley set a $4.50 price objective on shares of Transocean in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Transocean in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th.

Insider Transactions at Transocean

In other news, EVP Roderick James Mackenzie sold 35,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.48, for a total transaction of $156,800.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 212,072 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $950,082.56. This represents a 14.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Robert Thaddeus Vayda sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.29, for a total transaction of $128,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 235,154 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,008,810.66. The trade was a 11.31% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have sold 726,148 shares of company stock worth $3,115,783. 12.54% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Transocean

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in RIG. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its stake in shares of Transocean by 9.0% in the third quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 35,604 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock worth $114,000 after acquiring an additional 2,932 shares in the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Transocean by 3.5% in the third quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 100,634 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock valued at $314,000 after purchasing an additional 3,367 shares during the period. Moors & Cabot Inc. grew its stake in Transocean by 14.7% during the 2nd quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 27,350 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock worth $71,000 after purchasing an additional 3,500 shares in the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV increased its holdings in Transocean by 20.0% during the 3rd quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 24,175 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock worth $75,000 after purchasing an additional 4,026 shares during the period. Finally, HBK Sorce Advisory LLC raised its position in Transocean by 34.5% in the 2nd quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 16,134 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 4,139 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Transocean Stock Up 1.8%

RIG stock opened at $4.14 on Wednesday. Transocean has a one year low of $1.97 and a one year high of $4.56. The firm has a market cap of $4.56 billion, a PE ratio of -1.26 and a beta of 1.39. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $4.06 and its 200-day moving average price is $3.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.08.

Transocean (NYSE:RIG) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The offshore drilling services provider reported $0.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.04 by $0.02. Transocean had a positive return on equity of 0.45% and a negative net margin of 75.71%.The company had revenue of ($1,894.00) million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.01 billion. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Transocean will post 0.14 EPS for the current year.

Transocean Company Profile

Transocean Ltd. is a leading international provider of offshore contract drilling services for the oil and gas industry. The company specializes in the operation of mobile drilling units, including ultra-deepwater drillships, semisubmersible rigs and high-specification jackup rigs. Transocean’s fleet is designed to meet complex drilling requirements, from ultra-deepwater well construction to shelf exploration and development projects.

The company’s core services encompass the full spectrum of offshore drilling operations, including project and engineering management, marine operations, drilling supervision, and maintenance support.