Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC Takes $384,000 Position in Transocean Ltd. (NYSE:RIG)

Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Transocean Ltd. (NYSE:RIG) during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 71,815 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $384,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in RIG. Murphy Pohlad Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Transocean by 1.7% during the first quarter. Murphy Pohlad Asset Management LLC now owns 96,150 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock valued at $604,000 after buying an additional 1,600 shares during the last quarter. Traynor Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Transocean by 5.2% during the 1st quarter. Traynor Capital Management Inc. now owns 33,257 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock worth $209,000 after purchasing an additional 1,650 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Transocean by 8.6% in the first quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 22,237 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock worth $140,000 after purchasing an additional 1,767 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Transocean by 11.0% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 27,714 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock valued at $176,000 after purchasing an additional 2,743 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Capital Wealth Advisors boosted its position in shares of Transocean by 6.6% during the first quarter. Vanguard Capital Wealth Advisors now owns 48,200 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock valued at $303,000 after buying an additional 3,000 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Transocean Price Performance

Transocean stock opened at $4.31 on Monday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $4.85 and its 200 day simple moving average is $5.42. Transocean Ltd. has a 12 month low of $3.85 and a 12 month high of $8.60. The company has a market cap of $3.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.29 and a beta of 2.79. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63.

Transocean (NYSE:RIG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The offshore drilling services provider reported ($0.15) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.08) by ($0.07). Transocean had a negative net margin of 11.34% and a negative return on equity of 4.76%. The firm had revenue of $861.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $862.25 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.15) EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 18.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Transocean Ltd. will post -0.18 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on RIG shares. StockNews.com raised Transocean to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $8.00 target price on shares of Transocean in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Transocean from $7.00 to $5.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 16th. DNB Markets upgraded shares of Transocean from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, Citigroup downgraded Transocean from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Transocean has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $7.00.

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.