Transocean (NYSE:RIG) Trading Down 6% – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Transocean Ltd. (NYSE:RIG) fell 6% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $4.16 and last traded at $4.1850. 7,830,731 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 80% from the average session volume of 38,401,234 shares. The stock had previously closed at $4.45.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

RIG has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Transocean in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Citigroup increased their target price on Transocean from $3.50 to $4.25 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, November 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued an “underweight” rating on shares of Transocean in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on Transocean from $4.00 to $4.50 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $4.32.

Transocean Trading Down 3.5%

The firm has a market cap of $4.73 billion, a P/E ratio of -1.31 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $3.83 and a 200 day moving average of $3.27.

Transocean (NYSE:RIG) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The offshore drilling services provider reported $0.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.04 by $0.02. Transocean had a negative net margin of 75.71% and a positive return on equity of 0.45%. The firm had revenue of ($1,894.00) million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.01 billion. The business’s revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Transocean Ltd. will post 0.14 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Transocean news, CEO Keelan Adamson sold 57,968 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.50, for a total value of $260,856.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,303,715 shares in the company, valued at $5,866,717.50. This represents a 4.26% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Perestroika acquired 1,500,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 24th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $4.02 per share, with a total value of $6,030,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 96,574,894 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $388,231,073.88. This trade represents a 1.58% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have bought 11,000,000 shares of company stock valued at $36,460,000 and have sold 726,148 shares valued at $3,115,783. Corporate insiders own 12.54% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Transocean

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of RIG. Josh Arnold Investment Consultant LLC purchased a new position in Transocean during the second quarter worth $26,000. Blume Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Transocean by 125.9% during the second quarter. Blume Capital Management Inc. now owns 10,560 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 5,885 shares during the last quarter. Blueshift Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Transocean in the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Verum Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Transocean during the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Stockman Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Transocean in the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.