Transocean (NYSE:RIG) Price Target Lowered to $3.50 at Citigroup

Transocean (NYSE:RIG) had its target price decreased by investment analysts at Citigroup from $4.50 to $3.50 in a report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “neutral” rating on the offshore drilling services provider’s stock. Citigroup’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 7.86% from the company’s previous close.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Evercore ISI downgraded Transocean from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $6.00 to $5.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Barclays dropped their price objective on Transocean from $4.50 to $4.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on Transocean from $6.50 to $5.50 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Transocean from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $5.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Benchmark reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Transocean in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Transocean has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $5.23.

Transocean Price Performance

Shares of RIG traded up $0.05 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $3.25. 10,335,834 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 31,252,516. The company has a market cap of $2.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.45, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 2.72. Transocean has a fifty-two week low of $2.55 and a fifty-two week high of $6.88. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $3.54 and its 200 day moving average is $3.95.

Transocean (NYSE:RIG) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 17th. The offshore drilling services provider reported ($0.09) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.02 by ($0.11). The company had revenue of $952.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $962.28 million. Transocean had a negative return on equity of 0.52% and a negative net margin of 14.53%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Transocean will post 0.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Roderick James Mackenzie sold 22,000 shares of Transocean stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.85, for a total value of $84,700.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 313,072 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,205,327.20. The trade was a 6.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 13.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Transocean

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Pilgrim Global Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Transocean in the third quarter worth approximately $77,473,000. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in Transocean by 51.5% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 19,257,437 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock worth $72,215,000 after purchasing an additional 6,542,271 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new stake in Transocean in the fourth quarter worth approximately $16,608,000. SIR Capital Management L.P. bought a new stake in Transocean in the fourth quarter worth approximately $14,976,000. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in Transocean by 33.9% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 15,393,873 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock worth $57,727,000 after purchasing an additional 3,895,880 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.