Transocean (NYSE:RIG) Shares Down 5.4% – Time to Sell?

Transocean Ltd. (NYSE:RIG) dropped 5.4% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $3.98 and last traded at $4.01. Approximately 3,952,283 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 78% from the average daily volume of 18,354,738 shares. The stock had previously closed at $4.24.

Analyst Ratings Changes

RIG has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Susquehanna decreased their price target on shares of Transocean from $8.00 to $7.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Benchmark cut shares of Transocean from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Transocean to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Transocean from $5.00 to $6.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, DNB Markets upgraded Transocean from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Transocean has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $6.88.

Transocean Trading Down 5.0 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.36. The stock has a market cap of $3.53 billion, a P/E ratio of -9.41 and a beta of 2.79. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $4.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $5.29.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.08) by ($0.07). The business had revenue of $861.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $862.25 million. Transocean had a negative net margin of 11.34% and a negative return on equity of 4.76%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 18.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.15) earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Transocean Ltd. will post -0.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Perestroika acquired 1,500,000 shares of Transocean stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $4.13 per share, with a total value of $6,195,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 91,074,894 shares in the company, valued at $376,139,312.22. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, Director Perestroika acquired 1,500,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $4.13 per share, for a total transaction of $6,195,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director (Cyprus) Ltd Perestroika bought 2,000,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $5.23 per share, for a total transaction of $10,460,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 89,574,894 shares in the company, valued at approximately $468,476,695.62. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 13.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Transocean

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its stake in Transocean by 138.8% in the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 4,633 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 2,693 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Transocean during the second quarter worth about $30,000. Fiducient Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Transocean in the first quarter valued at about $63,000. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Transocean in the second quarter worth about $64,000. Finally, CWM LLC raised its position in shares of Transocean by 36.1% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 17,065 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock worth $73,000 after purchasing an additional 4,529 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.