Transocean (NYSE:RIG) Reaches New 1-Year Low After Earnings Miss

Shares of Transocean Ltd. (NYSE:RIG) reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Tuesday after the company announced weaker than expected quarterly earnings. The stock traded as low as $3.38 and last traded at $3.54, with a volume of 4262733 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $3.53.

The offshore drilling services provider reported ($0.09) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.02 by ($0.11). The firm had revenue of $952.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $962.28 million. Transocean had a negative net margin of 14.53% and a negative return on equity of 0.51%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on RIG shares. TD Cowen cut their price target on shares of Transocean from $6.50 to $5.50 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Benchmark restated a “hold” rating on shares of Transocean in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Evercore ISI downgraded shares of Transocean from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $6.00 to $5.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Susquehanna dropped their target price on shares of Transocean from $7.00 to $6.50 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Transocean to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $5.94.

Insider Activity at Transocean

In related news, EVP Roderick James Mackenzie sold 22,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.85, for a total transaction of $84,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 313,072 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,205,327.20. This represents a 6.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 13.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Transocean

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. CWM LLC raised its holdings in shares of Transocean by 36.1% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 17,065 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock worth $73,000 after buying an additional 4,529 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning raised its holdings in shares of Transocean by 63.0% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 290,993 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock worth $1,237,000 after buying an additional 112,512 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Transocean by 335.3% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 196,699 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock worth $836,000 after buying an additional 151,507 shares during the last quarter. Murphy Pohlad Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Transocean by 8.4% in the third quarter. Murphy Pohlad Asset Management LLC now owns 106,950 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock worth $455,000 after buying an additional 8,300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Transocean by 19.0% in the third quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 33,442 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock worth $142,000 after buying an additional 5,344 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Transocean Trading Up 3.6 %

The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $3.80 and its 200-day simple moving average is $4.23. The firm has a market cap of $3.12 billion, a PE ratio of -4.88, a PEG ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 2.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.64 and a quick ratio of 1.34.

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.