Transocean (NYSE:RIG) Sets New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

Transocean Ltd. (NYSE:RIG) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $4.57 and last traded at $4.5750, with a volume of 9426475 shares. The stock had previously closed at $4.30.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

RIG has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley set a $4.50 price target on Transocean in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Transocean from $4.00 to $4.50 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Transocean from $4.25 to $4.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued an “underweight” rating on shares of Transocean in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, Susquehanna upped their price objective on shares of Transocean from $4.50 to $5.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $4.38.

Transocean Price Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average of $4.18 and a 200-day moving average of $3.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.08. The stock has a market cap of $5.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.40 and a beta of 1.36.

Transocean (NYSE:RIG) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The offshore drilling services provider reported $0.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.04 by $0.02. Transocean had a positive return on equity of 0.45% and a negative net margin of 75.71%.The business 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% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Transocean Ltd. will post 0.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Transocean

In other news, insider Jeremy D. Thigpen sold 500,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.32, for a total value of $2,160,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 2,136,223 shares in the company, valued at $9,228,483.36. This trade represents a 18.97% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Frederik Wilhelm Mohn bought 1,500,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 24th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $4.02 per share, with a total value of $6,030,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 96,574,894 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $388,231,073.88. This represents a 1.58% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 726,148 shares of company stock worth $3,115,783 in the last three months. 12.54% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Transocean

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Josh Arnold Investment Consultant LLC acquired a new position in shares of Transocean during the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. Blume Capital Management Inc. raised 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 acquiring an additional 5,885 shares during the last quarter. Blueshift Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Transocean in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Transocean during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, Stockman Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Transocean during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

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.