Transocean Ltd. (NYSE:RIG) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Transocean Ltd. (NYSE:RIG) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the nine research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $8.89.

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Transocean from $6.00 to $7.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, August 7th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Transocean from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 17th. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $12.00 target price on shares of Transocean in a research report on Friday, September 15th. StockNews.com raised Transocean to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 1st. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on Transocean from $9.50 to $10.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 12th.

Transocean Price Performance

Transocean stock opened at $6.23 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $5.04 billion, a P/E ratio of -3.85 and a beta of 2.96. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $7.47 and a 200-day simple moving average of $7.26. The company has a current ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. Transocean has a 12-month low of $3.65 and a 12-month high of $8.88.

Transocean (NYSE:RIG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 30th. The offshore drilling services provider reported ($0.36) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.22) by ($0.14). Transocean had a negative return on equity of 9.76% and a negative net margin of 44.49%. The business had revenue of $713.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $738.22 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.06) earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Transocean will post -0.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO David A. Tonnel sold 57,259 shares of Transocean stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.22, for a total value of $470,668.98. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 417,789 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,434,225.58. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 13.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Transocean

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in RIG. Moors & Cabot Inc. grew its stake in shares of Transocean by 5.8% during the 1st quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 32,525 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock worth $207,000 after purchasing an additional 1,775 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE increased its position in shares of Transocean by 31.0% in the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 7,545 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 1,784 shares in the last quarter. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC increased its position in shares of Transocean by 13.3% in the third quarter. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC now owns 15,300 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock valued at $126,000 after buying an additional 1,800 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. raised its stake in shares of Transocean by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 79,464 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock worth $557,000 after buying an additional 1,818 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Southern Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Transocean by 10.3% in the 1st quarter. Southern Capital Advisors LLC now owns 21,500 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock worth $137,000 after buying an additional 2,000 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.70% of the company’s stock.

About Transocean

Transocean Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, provides offshore contract drilling services for oil and gas wells worldwide. It contracts its mobile offshore drilling rigs, related equipment, and work crews to drill oil and gas wells. It serves integrated energy companies, government-owned or government-controlled energy companies, and other independent energy companies.