Benchmark Reiterates “Hold” Rating for Transocean (NYSE:RIG)

Transocean (NYSE:RIG)‘s stock had its “hold” rating restated by equities researchers at Benchmark in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports.

RIG has been the topic of a number of other research reports. DNB Markets raised Transocean from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Barclays dropped their price objective on Transocean from $6.00 to $4.50 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. StockNews.com raised Transocean to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Susquehanna dropped their price objective on Transocean from $7.00 to $6.50 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Citigroup downgraded Transocean from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $6.43.

Transocean Stock Performance

Shares of Transocean stock opened at $4.26 on Tuesday. Transocean has a 12 month low of $3.85 and a 12 month high of $6.88. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $4.31 and its 200-day moving average price is $4.86. The firm has a market cap of $3.73 billion, a P/E ratio of -5.89 and a beta of 2.75. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Roderick James Mackenzie sold 20,000 shares of Transocean stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.29, for a total transaction of $85,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 310,857 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,333,576.53. The trade was a 6.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Perestroika bought 1,500,000 shares of the firm’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 acquisition, the director now directly owns 91,074,894 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $376,139,312.22. This trade represents a 1.67 % 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 Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Franklin Resources Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Transocean in the third quarter valued at approximately $157,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Transocean by 4.1% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,245,298 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock valued at $73,307,000 after buying an additional 680,242 shares in the last quarter. Abel Hall LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Transocean in the third quarter valued at approximately $65,000. Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of Transocean by 60.1% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,623,924 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock valued at $6,902,000 after buying an additional 609,681 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Transocean in the third quarter valued at approximately $46,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Transocean Company Profile

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.