Barclays Upgrades Transocean (NYSE:RIG) to "Overweight"

Key Points

• Barclays upgraded Transocean to "Overweight" and set an $8.00 price target, implying about a 28% upside from the current share price.
• Despite that upgrade, analysts remain mixed with a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $6.96, following recent divergent moves (BTIG raised to $10 while several firms cut ratings).
• Transocean missed quarterly EPS estimates (reported -$0.03 vs. $0.07 expected) though revenue beat, and an EVP sold 78,370 shares in March, reducing insider ownership by ~22.6% of his stake.

Transocean (NYSE:RIG - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities researchers at Barclays from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating in a note issued to investors on Thursday. The firm currently has a $8.00 price target on the offshore drilling services provider's stock. Barclays's price target indicates a potential upside of 28.31% from the company's current price.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. BTIG Research boosted their price objective on shares of Transocean from $6.00 to $10.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Fearnley Fonds downgraded shares of Transocean from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Clarkson Capital lowered shares of Transocean from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. TD Cowen raised their price target on Transocean from $5.50 to $6.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Pareto Securities lowered Transocean from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $5.25 price objective for the company. in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $6.96.

Transocean Trading Down 0.2%

Transocean stock opened at $6.24 on Thursday. Transocean has a one year low of $2.27 and a one year high of $7.14. The business's fifty day moving average is $6.40 and its 200 day moving average is $5.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.90 billion, a PE ratio of -2.09 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 1.27.

Transocean (NYSE:RIG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The offshore drilling services provider reported ($0.03) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.07 by ($0.10). The business had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.02 billion. Transocean had a positive return on equity of 0.88% and a negative net margin of 66.79%.Transocean's quarterly revenue was up 19.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($0.10) EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Transocean will post 0.21 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Transocean

In related news, EVP Roderick James Mackenzie sold 78,370 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.36, for a total transaction of $498,433.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 268,025 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,704,639. The trade was a 22.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 9.70% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Transocean

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Monashee Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Transocean during the 3rd quarter valued at about $936,000. Citigroup Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Transocean by 37.5% in the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 818,781 shares of the offshore drilling services provider's stock worth $2,555,000 after purchasing an additional 223,231 shares during the last quarter. Trek Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Transocean in the third quarter worth about $5,162,000. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Transocean by 2,662.3% during the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 1,562,314 shares of the offshore drilling services provider's stock valued at $4,874,000 after buying an additional 1,505,755 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ninepoint Partners LP bought a new position in Transocean during the third quarter valued at approximately $18,720,000. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

About Transocean

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.

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