Transocean Ltd. (NYSE:RIG) Receives Average Rating of "Reduce" from Analysts

Key Points

• Analyst consensus: Transocean has a consensus recommendation of "Reduce" from 10 analysts (3 sell, 5 hold, 2 buy) with an average 12‑month target price of $6.79.
• Quarterly results: The company missed EPS expectations (reported $0.02 vs. $0.09 estimate) while posting $1.04B in revenue, and reported a deeply negative net margin of about 73.5%.
• Insider and institutional activity: EVP Roderick Mackenzie sold 78,370 shares at ~$6.36 (a 22.6% cut in his holdings); insiders own 9.7% of stock while institutional investors hold ~67.7%.

Transocean Ltd. (NYSE:RIG - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Reduce" from the ten ratings firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $6.7917.

Several brokerages have weighed in on RIG. Barclays lowered shares of Transocean from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $4.50 to $6.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Clarkson Capital lowered shares of Transocean from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. Fearnley Fonds lowered shares of Transocean from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Transocean from $5.00 to $7.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, BTIG Research upped their target price on shares of Transocean from $6.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Transocean news, EVP Roderick James Mackenzie sold 78,370 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.36, for a total value of $498,433.20. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 268,025 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,704,639. This represents a 22.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 9.70% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Transocean

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Monashee Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Transocean in the third quarter valued at about $936,000. Citigroup Inc. lifted 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 valued at $2,555,000 after purchasing an additional 223,231 shares in the last quarter. Trek Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Transocean in the third quarter valued at about $5,162,000. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Transocean by 2,662.3% in 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 purchasing an additional 1,505,755 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ninepoint Partners LP purchased a new stake in shares of Transocean in the third quarter valued at about $18,720,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Transocean Trading Up 6.8%

Shares of Transocean stock opened at $6.53 on Tuesday. Transocean has a 52-week low of $2.11 and a 52-week high of $7.14. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $6.37 and its 200-day simple moving average is $5.01. The firm has a market cap of $7.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.07 and a beta of 1.37.

Transocean (NYSE:RIG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 20th. The offshore drilling services provider reported $0.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.09 by ($0.07). Transocean had a positive return on equity of 0.41% and a negative net margin of 73.52%.The firm had revenue of $1.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($0.09) earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Transocean will post 0.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Transocean Company Profile

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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