Zacks Investment Research upgraded shares of Transocean LTD (NYSE:RIG) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Sunday, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has $11.00 price objective on the offshore drilling services provider’s stock.

According to Zacks, “Transocean offers unmatched levels of earnings and cash flow visibility, given its technologically advanced and versatile offshore drilling fleet, strong backlog and considerable pricing power. The company has been selling/stacking older rigs as well as investing in high-specification rigs in order to improve the quality of its fleet. As such, it is expected to emerge a winner despite the current downturn. Moreover, the settlement of a host of civil/criminal claims associated with the Macondo incident has also eased the overhang on the stock. We further appreciate Transocean’s consistent initiatives to lower its operating cost, especially in an unfavorable business environment. Consequently, we think that the company offers substantial upside potential from the current price levels.”

A number of hedge funds and institutional investors recently modified their holdings of the stock. Meag Munich Ergo Kapitalanlagegesellschaft increased its position in shares of Transocean LTD by 351.9% in the third quarter. Meag Munich Ergo Kapitalanlagegesellschaft now owns 215,817 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock worth $2,698,000 after buying an additional 168,064 shares during the last quarter. Detwiler Fenton Investment Management bought a new position in shares of Transocean LTD during the fourth quarter worth about $176,000. Capstone Asset Management Company increased its position in shares of Transocean LTD by 137.6% in the fourth quarter. Capstone Asset Management Company now owns 88,050 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock worth $1,090,000 after buying an additional 50,990 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Transocean LTD during the fourth quarter worth about $1,777,000. Finally, Chevy Chase Trust Holdings increased its position in shares of Transocean LTD by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings now owns 276,883 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock worth $3,428,000 after buying an additional 2,000 shares during the last quarter.

Shares of Transocean LTD (NYSE:RIG) traded up 0.51% during trading on Friday, reaching $9.77. 15,501,758 shares of the company traded hands. The stock’s market capitalization is $3.55 billion. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $11.84 and its 200-day moving average is $13.76. Transocean LTD has a 12-month low of $8.57 and a 12-month high of $21.90.

Transocean LTD (NYSE:RIG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 4th. The offshore drilling services provider reported $0.87 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.19. The company earned $1.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.59 billion. The business’s revenue was down 29.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($6.12) EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Transocean LTD will post $3.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

RIG has been the topic of several other research reports. Susquehanna reaffirmed a rating and issued a $11.00 price objective on shares of Transocean LTD in a research report on Wednesday, October 28th. Howard Weil reduced their target price on shares of Transocean LTD from $17.00 to $16.00 in a research note on Monday, December 14th. Seaport Global Securities reduced their target price on shares of Transocean LTD from $13.00 to $10.00 and set a reduce rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 7th. Evercore ISI reiterated a sell rating on shares of Transocean LTD in a research note on Tuesday, December 8th. Finally, Deutsche Bank reduced their target price on shares of Transocean LTD from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a hold rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 19th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Transocean LTD currently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $13.82.

Transocean Ltd. is an international provider of offshore contract drilling services for oil and gas wells. The Company’s primary business is to contract its drilling rigs, related equipment and work crews primarily on a day rate basis to drill oil and gas wells. The Company specializes in technically demanding regions of the global offshore drilling business with a particular focus on deepwater and harsh environment drilling services. The Company’s mobile offshore drilling fleet consists of floaters and high-specification jackups used in support of offshore drilling activities and offshore support services on a worldwide basis. The Company owned or had partial ownership interests in and operated 71 mobile offshore drilling units and its fleet consisted of 44 high-specification floaters (NYSE:RIG), 17 midwater floaters and 10 high-specification jackups.

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