Transocean (NYSE:RIG) Lifted to "Positive" at Susquehanna

Transocean (NYSE:RIG - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Susquehanna from a "neutral" rating to a "positive" rating in a report released on Monday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage presently has a $9.00 price objective on the offshore drilling services provider's stock, up from their previous price objective of $5.50. Susquehanna's target price indicates a potential upside of 37.40% from the company's previous close.

A number of other research firms have also recently issued reports on RIG. Barclays reduced their price objective on Transocean from $7.00 to $6.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. StockNews.com raised Transocean to a "sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Citigroup reduced their price target on Transocean from $9.00 to $7.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Transocean from $8.00 to $7.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Transocean presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $8.50.

Transocean Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of Transocean stock traded up $0.02 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $6.55. The company's stock had a trading volume of 24,434,219 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,781,184. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.37 billion, a P/E ratio of -5.16 and a beta of 2.77. Transocean has a 1-year low of $4.45 and a 1-year high of $8.88. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $5.50 and a 200-day simple moving average of $6.19.

Transocean (NYSE:RIG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 19th. The offshore drilling services provider reported ($0.09) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.21) by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $741.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $779.17 million. Transocean had a negative return on equity of 7.13% and a negative net margin of 33.69%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($0.49) earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Transocean will post 0.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Transocean

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in RIG. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC increased its stake in Transocean by 13.3% during the third quarter. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC now owns 15,300 shares of the offshore drilling services provider's stock valued at $126,000 after acquiring an additional 1,800 shares during the period. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Transocean by 16.2% during the third quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 14,371 shares of the offshore drilling services provider's stock valued at $118,000 after acquiring an additional 2,000 shares during the period. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Transocean by 7.4% during the fourth quarter. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 31,496 shares of the offshore drilling services provider's stock valued at $197,000 after acquiring an additional 2,170 shares during the period. IHT Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Transocean by 13.7% during the fourth quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 19,212 shares of the offshore drilling services provider's stock valued at $88,000 after acquiring an additional 2,317 shares during the period. Finally, Snowden Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in Transocean by 6.4% during the first quarter. Snowden Capital Advisors LLC now owns 41,657 shares of the offshore drilling services provider's stock valued at $265,000 after acquiring an additional 2,500 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Transocean Company Profile

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.