Transocean (NYSE:RIG) Shares Up 9% – Still a Buy?

Transocean Ltd. (NYSE:RIG)’s stock price shot up 9% on Thursday . The company traded as high as $4.35 and last traded at $4.34. 21,783,191 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 19% from the average session volume of 18,362,363 shares. The stock had previously closed at $3.98.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on RIG. Susquehanna lowered their price objective on shares of Transocean from $8.00 to $7.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Citigroup lowered shares of Transocean from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Transocean from $5.00 to $6.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Benchmark lowered shares of Transocean from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, DNB Markets upgraded shares of Transocean from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $6.69.

Transocean Stock Up 10.3 %

The firm has a market cap of $3.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.56 and a beta of 2.79. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $4.36 and a 200-day moving average price of $5.10.

Transocean (NYSE:RIG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The offshore drilling services provider reported ($0.15) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.08) by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $861.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $862.25 million. Transocean had a negative return on equity of 4.76% and a negative net margin of 11.34%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 18.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.15) EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Transocean Ltd. will post -0.18 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Transocean

In related news, Director Perestroika acquired 1,500,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $4.13 per share, for a total transaction of $6,195,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 91,074,894 shares in the company, valued at $376,139,312.22. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Transocean news, Director (Cyprus) Ltd Perestroika purchased 2,000,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was bought at an average price of $5.23 per share, for a total transaction of $10,460,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 89,574,894 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $468,476,695.62. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Perestroika purchased 1,500,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $4.13 per share, with a total value of $6,195,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 91,074,894 shares in the company, valued at $376,139,312.22. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 12.54% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Transocean

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in RIG. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in Transocean by 18.8% in the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 46,334,990 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock valued at $290,984,000 after buying an additional 7,320,672 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Transocean by 19.0% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 36,725,995 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock worth $196,484,000 after purchasing an additional 5,856,414 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Transocean during the 2nd quarter worth about $16,179,000. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Transocean by 24.3% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 13,437,572 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock worth $71,891,000 after purchasing an additional 2,623,615 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in shares of Transocean by 18.3% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 16,858,264 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock worth $90,192,000 after purchasing an additional 2,606,017 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

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.