Transocean Reports Q2 Earnings On August 2

Transocean Ltd. (RIG) is scheduled to report its Q2 2012 results on August 2, 2012, before the market opens. The street expects EPS and revenue of $0.44 and $2.49B, respectively.

In this article I will recap the historical results of the company, its latest EPS estimates vs. surprises, the latest news from RIG and the news from its closest competitors.

Recent EPS Actuals vs. Estimates

The company has met or beaten analysts' estimates in the last two quarters. In the last quarter it reported $0.64 EPS, beating analyst estimates of $0.33.

The consensus EPS estimate is $0.44 based on 31 analysts' estimates, down from $0.64 a year ago. Revenue estimates are $2.49B, up from $2.33B a year ago. The median target price by analysts for the stock is $65.00.

Average recommendation: Overweight

Source: Marketwatch

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

• On April 11, 2012, FBR Capital reiterated Outperform rating for the company.
• On March 15, 2012, Global Hunter Securities upgraded the company from Neutral to Buy.
• On February 28, 2012, RBC Capital Mkts reiterated Outperform rating for the company.
• On February 28, 2012, FBR Capital reiterated Outperform rating for the company.
• On February 14, 2012, HSBC Securities reiterated Overweight rating for the company.

Latest News

• On July 18, 2012, Transocean Ltd. issued a comprehensive Fleet Status Report which provides current status and contract information for the company's entire fleet of offshore drilling rigs. Since the June update, backlog associated with new contracts or extensions is approximately $1.5 billion and 2012 estimated out of service time increased by a net 16 days.
• On June 14, 2012, Transocean Ltd. issued a monthly fleet update summary which includes new contracts, significant changes to existing contracts, and changes in estimated planned out of service time of 15 or more days since the May 17, 2012 update. Since the May update, backlog associated with new contracts or extensions is approximately $2.5 billion and planned 2012 out of service time decreased by a net 19 days.
• On May 17, 2012, Transocean Ltd. issued a monthly fleet update summary which includes newly signed contracts, significant changes to existing contracts, and changes in estimated planned out of service time of 15 days or longer for all rig classifications since the previously issued comprehensive fleet status report. Backlog associated with new contracts or extensions since the April 18, 2012 fleet status report is approximately $726 million. Planned 2012 out of service time increased by a net 471 days, which includes 320 days (68 percent) associated with rigs preparing for new or potential contracts and 105 days (22 percent) related to recertification of well control equipment on two additional rigs.
• On May 3, 2012, Reuters reported that BP plc won preliminary court approval of an estimated $7.8 billion settlement to resolve more than 100,000 claims by individuals and businesses stemming from the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

Competitors

Atwood Oceanics (ATW), Diamond Offshore Drilling (DO), Ensco (ESV), and Noble Corp. (NE) are considered major competitors for Transocean and the table below provides the key metrics for these companies and the industry.

The chart below compares the stock price changes as a percentage for the selected companies and S&P 500 index for the last one year period.

RIG data by YCharts

Competitors' Latest Development

• On July 19, 2012, Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc announced that the Company has declared a special quarterly cash dividend of $0.75 per share of common stock and a regular quarterly cash dividend of $0.125 per share of common stock.
• On July 12, 2012, Noble Corporation announced that the Company has entered into a three-year term drilling contract with Anadarko Petroleum Corporation for the Noble Bob Douglas, one of Noble's new ultra-deepwater drillships currently under construction at the Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. Ltd. (HHI) shipyard in Ulsan, South Korea.
• On July 10, 2012, Atwood Oceanics Inc announced that one of its subsidiaries has been awarded a twelve-month contract extension with an affiliate of Coastal Energy Company for the jackup rig Vicksburg.
• On July 9, 2012, Atwood Oceanics, Inc., announced that one of its subsidiaries has been awarded a drilling services contract by Glencore Exploration Cameroon Ltd for the jack-up rig Atwood Aurora.
• On May 3, 2012, Ensco plc announced that for second quarter of 2012, it expects revenues to increase approximately 6% from first quarter of 2012. The Company reported revenue of $1.03 billion in first quarter of 2012.
• On April 27, 2012, Atwood Oceanics Inc announced that one of its subsidiaries has been awarded a drilling services contract by a subsidiary of Noble Energy Inc. for the Atwood Hunter for three firm wells with a minimum total duration of 150 days plus one option well.
• On April 23, 2012, Atwood Oceanics Inc announced that one of its subsidiaries has been awarded a three year contract extension by Chevron Australia Pty Ltd (Chevron), for the semisubmersible Atwood Osprey.
• On April 19, 2012, Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc announced that the Company has declared a special quarterly cash dividend of $0.75 per share of common stock and a regular quarterly cash dividend of $0.125 per share of common stock.
• On March 28, 2012, Hercules Offshore, Inc. announced that it has closed the previously announced acquisition of the offshore drilling rig Ocean Columbia from a subsidiary of Diamond Offshore Drilling, Inc. for $40 million in cash.
• On March 22, 2012, Atwood Oceanics Inc announced that one of its subsidiaries has been awarded a contract by Salamander Energy (Bualuang) Limited, for the newbuild jackup Atwood Mako.
• On March 21, 2012, Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc. announced the execution of a definitive agreement to sell its subsidiary's jack-up drilling rig, Ocean Columbia, to a subsidiary of Hercules Offshore, Inc., for a sale price of $40 million in cash.
• On February 29, 2012, Ensco plc announced that its Board of Directors has declared a regular quarterly cash dividend of $0.375 per Class A ordinary share payable on 23 March 2012 to holders of Ensco's American depositary shares (ADS) as of the March 12, 2012, record date.
• On February 23, 2012, Ensco plc announced that for first quarter of 2012, it expects revenue to increase approximately 8% from the fourth quarter. The Company reported revenue of $994.90 million in fourth quarter of 2011.
• On February 7, 2012, Atwood Oceanics Inc announced that one of its subsidiaries has been awarded a drilling services contract by Shemen Oil and Gas Resources Ltd., an Israel-based oil and gas company, for the Atwood Beacon.
• On February 2, 2012, Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc. announced that the Company has declared a special quarterly cash dividend of $0.75 per share of common stock and a regular quarterly cash dividend of $0.125 per share of common stock.

Technical Overview

The stock has a market capitalization of $15.84B and is currently trading at $45.19 with a 52 week range of $38.21 - $62.87. The stock's year-to-date performance has been 19.61%. It is currently trading above 50 SMA, but below 20 and 200 SMA.

Sources: Yahoo Finance, Google Finance, Marketwatch, Finviz, Reuters.

Disclosure: I have no positions in any stocks mentioned, and no plans to initiate any positions within the next 72 hours.