Clarkson Capital Downgrades Transocean (NYSE:RIG) to Hold

Transocean (NYSE:RIG) was downgraded by investment analysts at Clarkson Capital from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on RIG. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed an “underweight” rating on shares of Transocean in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. BTIG Research raised their price target on Transocean from $6.00 to $10.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Barclays downgraded Transocean from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $4.50 to $6.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Pareto Securities lowered Transocean from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $5.25 price objective on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, Fearnley Fonds downgraded Transocean from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Transocean has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $6.38.

Transocean Stock Down 3.5%

Shares of Transocean stock opened at $6.24 on Thursday. Transocean has a one year low of $1.97 and a one year high of $6.96. The company has a market cap of $6.88 billion, a P/E ratio of -1.98 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.56. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $5.63 and a two-hundred day moving average of $4.42.

Transocean (NYSE:RIG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The offshore drilling services provider reported $0.02 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.09 by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $1.04 billion during 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 firm’s revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.09) EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Transocean will post 0.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Keelan Adamson sold 58,687 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.00, for a total value of $293,435.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,222,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,110,910. This trade represents a 4.58% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Roderick James Mackenzie sold 78,370 shares of Transocean stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.36, for a total value of $498,433.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 268,025 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,704,639. This represents a 22.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 159,903 shares of company stock valued at $906,098. Insiders own 12.27% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Transocean

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. boosted 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 in the last quarter. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Transocean during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Benedict Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Transocean in the third quarter valued at about $31,000. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Transocean in the third quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Forteris Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Transocean in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $41,000. 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.