Transocean Ltd. (NYSE:RIG) Given Consensus Rating of "Hold" by Brokerages

Shares of Transocean Ltd. (NYSE:RIG - Get Free Report) have been given an average rating of "Hold" by the ten brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $4.63.

RIG has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. SEB Equity Research set a $2.80 price objective on Transocean in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Evercore ISI downgraded Transocean from an "outperform" rating to an "in-line" rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $6.00 to $5.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Transocean from $4.50 to $3.50 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. BTIG Research set a $5.00 price target on Transocean and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Transocean from $5.00 to $4.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 27th.

Transocean Trading Down 4.3%

RIG stock traded down $0.12 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $2.66. The company had a trading volume of 39,820,108 shares, compared to its average volume of 25,750,221. Transocean has a 12 month low of $1.97 and a 12 month high of $6.38. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $2.62 and a 200 day moving average of $3.44. The company has a market capitalization of $2.35 billion, a PE ratio of -3.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 2.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 1.47 and a quick ratio of 1.34.

Transocean (NYSE:RIG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 14.53% and a negative return on equity of 0.52%. The firm had revenue of $906.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $884.92 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($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 predict that Transocean will post 0.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Roderick James Mackenzie sold 22,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $2.78, for a total value of $61,160.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 340,841 shares in the company, valued at $947,537.98. This represents a 6.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 12.27% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Transocean

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Optiver Holding B.V. lifted its stake in Transocean by 53.6% in the fourth quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 8,400 shares of the offshore drilling services provider's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 2,933 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Transocean by 19.4% during the 4th quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 18,247 shares of the offshore drilling services provider's stock valued at $68,000 after buying an additional 2,963 shares during the last quarter. Van Den Berg Management I Inc. lifted its holdings in Transocean by 11.9% in the 4th quarter. Van Den Berg Management I Inc. now owns 28,155 shares of the offshore drilling services provider's stock worth $106,000 after purchasing an additional 3,000 shares during the last quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Transocean by 25.6% during the fourth quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 15,332 shares of the offshore drilling services provider's stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 3,127 shares during the period. Finally, Nomura Holdings Inc. raised its stake in Transocean by 11.6% during the fourth quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. now owns 32,651 shares of the offshore drilling services provider's stock worth $122,000 after acquiring an additional 3,390 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently 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.