Arizona State Retirement System Has $1.11 Million Holdings in Transocean Ltd. (NYSE:RIG)

Arizona State Retirement System boosted its stake in Transocean Ltd. (NYSE:RIG) by 3.2% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 206,501 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock after buying an additional 6,395 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in Transocean were worth $1,105,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of RIG. Capital World Investors increased its holdings in shares of Transocean by 34.7% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 39,014,318 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock worth $247,741,000 after buying an additional 10,049,077 shares in the last quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA grew its position in Transocean by 11.4% during the 4th quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 50,699,389 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock worth $321,941,000 after acquiring an additional 5,168,000 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Transocean by 6.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 68,552,192 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock valued at $435,306,000 after purchasing an additional 4,107,956 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new position in Transocean in the second quarter worth $16,179,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in shares of Transocean by 18.3% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 16,858,264 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock worth $90,192,000 after purchasing an additional 2,606,017 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Transocean Price Performance

Shares of RIG stock opened at $4.13 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $5.02 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $5.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.36. Transocean Ltd. has a 52-week low of $3.85 and a 52-week high of $8.88. The stock has a market cap of $3.62 billion, a PE ratio of -7.94 and a beta of 2.79.

Transocean (NYSE:RIG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The offshore drilling services provider reported ($0.15) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.08) by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $861.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $862.25 million. Transocean had a negative return on equity of 4.76% and a negative net margin of 11.34%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($0.15) earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Transocean Ltd. will post -0.19 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Perestroika purchased 1,500,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $4.13 per share, with a total value of $6,195,000.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 91,074,894 shares in the company, valued at approximately $376,139,312.22. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Transocean news, Director (Cyprus) Ltd Perestroika bought 2,000,000 shares of Transocean stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $5.23 per share, for a total transaction of $10,460,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 89,574,894 shares in the company, valued at approximately $468,476,695.62. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Perestroika purchased 1,500,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $4.13 per share, with a total value of $6,195,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 91,074,894 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $376,139,312.22. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 13.16% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on RIG shares. Citigroup cut Transocean from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $8.00 target price on shares of Transocean in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. StockNews.com raised shares of Transocean to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, DNB Markets raised Transocean from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Transocean currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $7.25.

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.