Xponance Inc. Boosts Position in Transocean Ltd. (NYSE:RIG)

Xponance Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Transocean Ltd. (NYSE:RIG) by 25.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 64,445 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 13,070 shares during the period. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in Transocean were worth $242,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Twin Tree Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Transocean during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in Transocean by 96.2% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 9,841 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 4,826 shares in the last quarter. Adero Partners LLC bought a new stake in Transocean during the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. purchased a new stake in shares of Transocean in the 4th quarter worth $40,000. Finally, R Squared Ltd bought a new position in Transocean during the 4th quarter worth about $41,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Transocean Trading Down 3.2 %

Shares of Transocean stock opened at $3.20 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $3.40 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $3.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.38, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 2.72. Transocean Ltd. has a 12-month low of $2.55 and a 12-month high of $6.88. The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60.

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 firm had revenue of $952.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $962.28 million. Transocean had a negative net margin of 14.53% and a negative return on equity of 0.52%. Analysts predict that Transocean Ltd. will post 0.14 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Transocean

In related news, EVP Roderick James Mackenzie sold 22,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.05, for a total transaction of $89,100.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 229,596 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $929,863.80. This trade represents a 8.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 13.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on RIG shares. Barclays dropped their target price on Transocean from $4.50 to $4.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Benchmark reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Transocean in a report 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 on the stock in a report on Friday, December 6th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Transocean from $5.00 to $4.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Transocean from $4.50 to $3.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $5.03.

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.