Transocean (NYSE:RIG) Stock Rating Lowered by Benchmark

Transocean (NYSE:RIG) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Benchmark from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Tuesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com raised Transocean to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Susquehanna reduced their price target on shares of Transocean from $8.00 to $7.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Transocean from $5.00 to $6.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. DNB Markets raised Transocean from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, Citigroup downgraded Transocean from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $6.88.

Transocean Price Performance

Shares of NYSE RIG opened at $4.13 on Tuesday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $3.89 billion, a PE ratio of -7.94 and a beta of 2.79. Transocean has a 1-year low of $3.85 and a 1-year high of $7.66. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $4.57 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $5.26.

Transocean (NYSE:RIG) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $861.00 million during 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 was up 18.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned ($0.15) EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Transocean will post -0.18 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Transocean

In related news, Director (Cyprus) Ltd Perestroika bought 2,000,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $5.23 per share, for a total transaction of $10,460,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 89,574,894 shares in the company, valued at approximately $468,476,695.62. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, Director (Cyprus) Ltd Perestroika purchased 2,000,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were bought at an average price of $5.23 per share, for a total transaction of $10,460,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 89,574,894 shares in the company, valued at approximately $468,476,695.62. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Perestroika acquired 1,500,000 shares of Transocean stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $4.13 per share, with a total value of $6,195,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 91,074,894 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $376,139,312.22. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 13.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Transocean

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in RIG. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its stake in Transocean by 138.8% during the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 4,633 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 2,693 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Transocean during the second quarter worth approximately $30,000. Fiducient Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Transocean in the first quarter valued at approximately $63,000. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Transocean in the second quarter worth $64,000. Finally, CWM LLC increased its position in Transocean by 36.1% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 17,065 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock worth $73,000 after acquiring an additional 4,529 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.