NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Transocean (RIG) - Get Report shares are up 0.98% to $15.39 in trading on Thursday as Saudi led airstrikes commenced against Houthi rebels who overtook the country's capital in September in an effort to oust President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi.

Yemen, while only responsible for a small percentage of global oil output, sits at an important strategic oil shipping position next to the Gulf of Aden.

In 2013, 3.8 million barrels a day passed through Bab el-Mandeb, the 18-mile wide choke point that sits between Yemen and Djibouti, and separates the Gulf of Aden from the Red Sea and the Suez Canal to the north. The threat to global supplies of crude sent oil prices jumping today.

Industry standard Brent crude for April delivery is up 4.11% to $58.80 per barrel while West Texas crude is gaining 2.5% to $50.44 per barrel in trading today.

TheStreet Ratings team rates TRANSOCEAN LTD as a Sell with a ratings score of D+. TheStreet Ratings Team has this to say about their recommendation:

"We rate TRANSOCEAN LTD (RIG) a SELL. This is driven by multiple weaknesses, which we believe should have a greater impact than any strengths, and could make it more difficult for investors to achieve positive results compared to most of the stocks we cover. The company's weaknesses can be seen in multiple areas, such as its deteriorating net income, disappointing return on equity, weak operating cash flow, generally disappointing historical performance in the stock itself and feeble growth in its earnings per share."

Highlights from the analysis by TheStreet Ratings Team goes as follows:

• The company, on the basis of change in net income from the same quarter one year ago, has significantly underperformed when compared to that of the S&P 500 and the Energy Equipment & Services industry. The net income has significantly decreased by 417.2% when compared to the same quarter one year ago, falling from $233.00 million to -$739.00 million.
• Return on equity has greatly decreased when compared to its ROE from the same quarter one year prior. This is a signal of major weakness within the corporation. Compared to other companies in the Energy Equipment & Services industry and the overall market, TRANSOCEAN LTD's return on equity significantly trails that of both the industry average and the S&P 500.
• Net operating cash flow has decreased to $566.00 million or 26.77% when compared to the same quarter last year. In addition, when comparing the cash generation rate to the industry average, the firm's growth is significantly lower.
• Despite any intermediate fluctuations, we have only bad news to report on this stock's performance over the last year: it has tumbled by 64.44%, worse than the S&P 500's performance. Consistent with the plunge in the stock price, the company's earnings per share are down 438.33% compared to the year-earlier quarter. Naturally, the overall market trend is bound to be a significant factor. However, in one sense, the stock's sharp decline last year is a positive for future investors, making it cheaper (in proportion to its earnings over the past year) than most other stocks in its industry. But due to other concerns, we feel the stock is still not a good buy right now.
• TRANSOCEAN LTD has experienced a steep decline in earnings per share in the most recent quarter in comparison to its performance from the same quarter a year ago. The company has reported a trend of declining earnings per share over the past two years. However, the consensus estimate suggests that this trend should reverse in the coming year. During the past fiscal year, TRANSOCEAN LTD swung to a loss, reporting -$5.25 versus $3.85 in the prior year. This year, the market expects an improvement in earnings ($1.56 versus -$5.25).
• You can view the full analysis from the report here: RIG Ratings Report

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