Benchmark Reiterates Hold Rating for Transocean (NYSE:RIG)

Transocean (NYSE:RIG)‘s stock had its “hold” rating reiterated by Benchmark in a report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on RIG. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Transocean from $5.00 to $6.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Citigroup cut shares of Transocean from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Transocean from $6.00 to $4.50 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. DNB Markets upgraded shares of Transocean from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Transocean to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $6.43.

Transocean Price Performance

NYSE:RIG traded down $0.02 on Tuesday, reaching $4.34. 2,954,409 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 18,411,156. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $4.31 and a 200-day simple moving average of $4.89. Transocean has a 12 month low of $3.85 and a 12 month high of $6.88. The firm has a market cap of $3.80 billion, a PE ratio of -5.76 and a beta of 2.75. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Transocean news, EVP Roderick James Mackenzie sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.29, for a total value of $85,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 310,857 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,333,576.53. The trade was a 6.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Perestroika purchased 1,500,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $4.13 per share, for a total transaction of $6,195,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 91,074,894 shares in the company, valued at approximately $376,139,312.22. This represents a 1.67 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 12.54% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Franklin Resources Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Transocean during the third quarter worth $157,000. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Transocean by 4.1% during the 3rd 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 purchasing an additional 680,242 shares during the last quarter. Abel Hall LLC acquired a new position in shares of Transocean in the third quarter valued at about $65,000. Barclays PLC boosted its position in 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Transocean in the 3rd quarter valued at $46,000. 67.73% of the stock is 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.