Ensign Peak Advisors Inc Acquires 1,059,893 Shares of Transocean Ltd. (NYSE:RIG)

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc lifted its stake in shares of Transocean Ltd. (NYSE:RIG - Free Report) by 17.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,152,461 shares of the offshore drilling services provider's stock after buying an additional 1,059,893 shares during the period. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc owned about 0.82% of Transocean worth $26,822,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Transocean by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 78,811,863 shares of the offshore drilling services provider's stock valued at $295,544,000 after buying an additional 931,684 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Transocean by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 40,008,596 shares of the offshore drilling services provider's stock worth $150,029,000 after purchasing an additional 809,864 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in Transocean by 51.5% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 19,257,437 shares of the offshore drilling services provider's stock worth $72,215,000 after purchasing an additional 6,542,271 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in Transocean by 33.9% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 15,393,873 shares of the offshore drilling services provider's stock worth $57,727,000 after purchasing an additional 3,895,880 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Transocean by 7.4% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,465,534 shares of the offshore drilling services provider's stock worth $46,746,000 after purchasing an additional 859,214 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Transocean from $4.00 to $3.50 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Susquehanna cut their price objective on Transocean from $5.00 to $4.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. BTIG Research set a $5.00 price objective on Transocean and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Barclays cut their price objective on Transocean from $4.00 to $3.50 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, SEB Equity Research set a $2.80 price target on Transocean in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Transocean has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $4.58.

Transocean Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:RIG traded down $0.01 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $2.66. 18,128,988 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 25,721,593. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. Transocean Ltd. has a 12 month low of $1.97 and a 12 month high of $6.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 2.52. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $2.61 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $3.43.

Transocean (NYSE:RIG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 28th. The offshore drilling services provider reported ($0.10) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.12) by $0.02. Transocean had a negative return on equity of 0.52% and a negative net margin of 14.53%. The company had revenue of $906.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $884.92 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.03) EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 18.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Transocean Ltd. will post 0.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Transocean

In other Transocean news, EVP Roderick James Mackenzie sold 22,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2.78, for a total value of $61,160.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 340,841 shares in the company, valued at $947,537.98. This represents a 6.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 12.27% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.