Transocean (NYSE:RIG) Shares Up 5.7% – Here’s What Happened

Transocean Ltd. (NYSE:RIG)’s share price rose 5.7% on Thursday . The company traded as high as $6.57 and last traded at $6.6070. Approximately 9,024,896 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 81% from the average daily volume of 47,446,484 shares. The stock had previously closed at $6.25.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on RIG shares. Pareto Securities cut Transocean from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $5.25 price target for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Barclays cut shares of Transocean from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $4.50 to $6.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed an “underweight” rating on shares of Transocean in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Transocean from $4.25 to $4.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Transocean in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Transocean has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $6.38.

Transocean Trading Down 3.5%

The business’s fifty day moving average price is $5.63 and its 200 day moving average price is $4.42. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $6.88 billion, a PE ratio of -1.98 and a beta of 1.40.

Transocean (NYSE:RIG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 19th. The offshore drilling services provider reported $0.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.09 by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $1.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.03 billion. Transocean had a negative net margin of 73.52% and a positive return on equity of 0.41%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.09) EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Transocean Ltd. will post 0.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Transocean news, EVP Roderick James Mackenzie sold 78,370 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.36, for a total transaction of $498,433.20. Following the transaction, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Keelan Adamson sold 58,687 shares of Transocean stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.00, for a total value of $293,435.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,222,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,110,910. This represents a 4.58% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders have sold 159,903 shares of company stock worth $906,098. Corporate insiders own 12.27% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Transocean

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of RIG. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. raised its position in shares of Transocean by 22,432.1% in the 4th quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 6,309 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 6,281 shares during the period. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Transocean during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Benedict Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Transocean during the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. acquired a new stake in Transocean during the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Forteris Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Transocean during the 4th quarter worth $41,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

About Transocean

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.