Transocean (NYSE:RIG) Hits New 1-Year Low – What’s Next?

Transocean Ltd. (NYSE:RIG)’s share price reached a new 52-week low on Thursday . The company traded as low as $3.53 and last traded at $3.55, with a volume of 29549843 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $3.62.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

RIG has been the topic of several recent research reports. Susquehanna lowered their price target 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. StockNews.com upgraded Transocean to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Benchmark reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Transocean in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Transocean from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $5.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Barclays raised shares of Transocean from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $4.50 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $6.25.

Transocean Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.64 and a quick ratio of 1.34. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $4.21 and its 200-day simple moving average is $4.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.73 and a beta of 2.75.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Transocean news, EVP Roderick James Mackenzie sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 310,857 shares in the company, valued at $1,333,576.53. This represents a 6.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 13.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Transocean

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its holdings 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 worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 2,693 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Transocean during the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Transocean in the 3rd quarter worth about $46,000. Atria Investments Inc bought a new position in Transocean in the third quarter valued at about $51,000. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC raised its holdings in Transocean by 34.0% in the 3rd quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 15,877 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock valued at $62,000 after buying an additional 4,027 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.