Transocean (NYSE:RIG) Stock Price Up 4.1% on Insider Buying Activity

Transocean Ltd. (NYSE:RIG) shares rose 4.1% during mid-day trading on Monday following insider buying activity. The stock traded as high as $4.30 and last traded at $4.30. Approximately 2,614,398 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 86% from the average daily volume of 18,211,180 shares. The stock had previously closed at $4.13.

Specifically, Director Perestroika bought 1,500,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $4.13 per share, with a total value of $6,195,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 91,074,894 shares in the company, valued at $376,139,312.22. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Transocean from $7.00 to $5.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Citigroup downgraded shares of Transocean from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, September 12th. DNB Markets raised shares of Transocean from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. StockNews.com raised shares of Transocean to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and issued a $8.00 price target on shares of Transocean in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $7.00.

Transocean Trading Up 7.6 %

The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $5.00 and its 200-day moving average price is $5.46. The firm has a market cap of $4.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.55 and a beta of 2.79.

Transocean (NYSE:RIG) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 during 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.15) earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Transocean Ltd. will post -0.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Transocean by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 68,982,142 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock worth $433,208,000 after purchasing an additional 429,950 shares during the last quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA boosted its position in Transocean by 0.7% during the second quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 56,119,489 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock worth $300,239,000 after acquiring an additional 375,450 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its stake in Transocean by 18.8% during 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 acquiring an additional 7,320,672 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Transocean by 19.0% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 36,725,995 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock valued at $196,484,000 after acquiring an additional 5,856,414 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in Transocean by 7.0% in the 1st quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 17,013,964 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock worth $106,848,000 after purchasing an additional 1,105,747 shares in the last quarter. 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.