Transocean (NYSE:RIG) Downgraded by Wall Street Zen to Sell

Key Points

• Transocean's stock has been downgraded by Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating, reflecting a negative outlook from analysts.
• Despite the downgrade, BTIG Research still set a target price of $5.00 and rated the stock as a "buy", indicating mixed sentiments among analysts.
• Shares of Transocean were trading down 3.8% to $2.81, with a current market cap of $2.48 billion and a consensus target price of $4.58.

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Transocean (NYSE:RIG - Free Report) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note published on Saturday morning.

RIG has been the subject of several other reports. Barclays dropped their target price on Transocean from $4.00 to $3.50 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Transocean from $4.00 to $3.50 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 16th. BTIG Research set a $5.00 target price on Transocean and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Susquehanna dropped their target price on Transocean from $5.00 to $4.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $4.20.

Transocean Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:RIG traded up $0.01 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $2.82. 16,093,249 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 37,051,930. Transocean has a 1 year low of $1.97 and a 1 year high of $5.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.33. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $2.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $2.91. The company has a market cap of $2.49 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.96, a PEG ratio of 5.43 and a beta of 2.52.

Transocean (NYSE:RIG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The offshore drilling services provider reported ($1.06) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.01) by ($1.05). Transocean had a negative return on equity of 0.94% and a negative net margin of 18.79%. The company had revenue of $988.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $972.37 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.15) EPS. The firm's revenue was up 14.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Transocean will post 0.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Transocean

In related news, EVP Roderick James Mackenzie sold 22,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2.78, for a total value of $61,160.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 340,841 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $947,537.98. This trade represents a 6.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 12.54% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Transocean

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Murphy Pohlad Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Transocean by 9.0% in the 2nd quarter. Murphy Pohlad Asset Management LLC now owns 116,000 shares of the offshore drilling services provider's stock worth $300,000 after acquiring an additional 9,600 shares during the last quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC grew its holdings in shares of Transocean by 34.5% during the second quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 16,134 shares of the offshore drilling services provider's stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 4,139 shares in the last quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors grew its stake in Transocean by 296.8% in the second quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 794,790 shares of the offshore drilling services provider's stock valued at $2,059,000 after purchasing an additional 594,477 shares in the last quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC grew its stake in Transocean by 61.9% in the second quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC now owns 43,177 shares of the offshore drilling services provider's stock valued at $112,000 after purchasing an additional 16,514 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its position in shares of Transocean by 38.1% in the second quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 165,411 shares of the offshore drilling services provider's stock worth $428,000 after buying an additional 45,610 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

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.