Transocean (NYSE:RIG) Downgraded by Citigroup to “Neutral”

Transocean (NYSE:RIG) was downgraded by research analysts at Citigroup from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, MarketBeat.com reports.

A number of other brokerages also recently weighed in on RIG. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $8.00 target price on shares of Transocean in a report on Friday, August 2nd. DNB Markets upgraded Transocean from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Transocean to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $7.25.

Transocean Trading Down 1.0 %

NYSE RIG traded down $0.04 on Thursday, hitting $4.02. 2,291,923 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 18,169,725. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $5.06 and its 200-day moving average price is $5.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.52 billion, a P/E ratio of -7.73 and a beta of 2.80. Transocean has a twelve month low of $3.85 and a twelve month high of $8.88.

Transocean (NYSE:RIG) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The offshore drilling services provider reported ($0.15) earnings per share 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 analyst estimates of $862.25 million. Transocean had a negative net margin of 11.34% and a negative return on equity of 4.76%. Transocean’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.15) EPS. Analysts predict that Transocean will post -0.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Transocean news, Director (Cyprus) Ltd Perestroika acquired 2,000,000 shares of Transocean stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $5.23 per share, with a total value of $10,460,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 89,574,894 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $468,476,695.62. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 13.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A acquired a new position in shares of Transocean in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its stake in shares of 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 acquired a new position in shares of Transocean in the second quarter valued at $30,000. Fiducient Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Transocean in the first quarter valued at $63,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Transocean during the second quarter worth $64,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently 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.