Analysts Drop Seadrill Partners from Coverage

On February 2, 2017, Morgan Stanley upgraded Seadrill Partners (SDLP) and raised its target price to $8 from $7. In February, Morgan Stanley downgraded Transocean (RIG) to “underweight” from “equal weight,” and raised its target price to $13 from $12.

Currently, only two analysts give recommendations on Seadrill Partners. This number has dropped significantly over the past one year. In February 2016, seven analysts covered Seadrill Partners. Five of these analysts gave “hold” recommendations.

Only two analysts give recommendations on this stock, and they both have different opinions. One analyst recommends a “buy” while the other analyst suggests a “strong sell” for the stock. The consensus target price for the stock is $8, which implies an upside of 63% compared to the current price of $4.80 on February 17, 2017.

Recommendations for offshore drilling (OIH) companies:

• Noble (NE) is covered by 36 analysts. Out of these, 8 analysts suggest “strong buy” or “buy,” 22 analysts recommend “hold,” and the remaining six analysts recommend either “sell” or “strong sell.”
• Of the 11 analysts covering Pacific Drilling (PACD), none of the analysts give the stock “buy” or “strong buy” recommendations. Five analysts suggest a “hold,” and the remaining six analysts either give “strong sell” or “sell” ratings.
• Of the 36 analysts covering Rowan Companies (RDC), eight analysts either give “strong buy” or “buy” ratings. 61% of the total analysts recommend “hold” and the remaining six analysts suggest either “strong sell” or “sell” ratings.